BORACAY – The additional police personnel who were deployed to this famed island destination – which is now facing a looming closure – are tasked to counter possible demonstrations, according to an official from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
Chief Superintendent Carlito Feliciano, PRO-6 deputy director for administration, said the 140 standby security forces were trained on civil disturbance management.
PRO-6 spokeswoman Chief Inspector Joem Malong earlier said the additional police security team was composed of 139 members.
“Pinaghahandaan natin ang security ng Boracay with maximum tolerance sa mga protesta dahil sa closure ng isla,” Feliciano said.
The augmentation forces, who arrived in Boracay on Saturday, will help the Metro Boracay Task Force, the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center and the 2nd Aklan Mobile Force Company in maintaining peace and order in the island.
The island shutdown has been facing opposition from various labor groups in Western Visayas. The groups said over 30,000 registered workers in Boracay will be displaced once it closes.
The country will also lose revenues from tourism receipts generated in the tourist hotspot once the closure begins, they said.
Malong stressed that “there has been no riot or rally in the [island], but the Police Regional Office 6 would like to inform you that we are prepared whatever happens during the closure or rehabilitation of Boracay.”
She added that the island’s peace and order situation is still manageable.
More police personnel will be sent to Boracay “just in case the situation there escalates,” Malong stressed.
There are about 500 security personnel – police and military – regularly patrolling the beaches of Boracay.
They also man jetty ports and areas in mainland Malay.
On April 4, PRO-6 deputy director for operations Senior Superintendent Jesus Cambay Jr. led a capability demonstration conference on security issues and concerns in Barangay Balabag – one of the three villages in Boracay.
Jose Roberto Nuñez, director of the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas, also discussed with the Regional Peace and Order Council, stakeholders and other government agencies the contingency plan for Boracay’s shutdown on April 3 – a day before President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation closing the island starting April 26 and six months thereafter. (With Boy Ryan Zabal of Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
