KALIBO, Aklan – The security plan for the 2019 Ati-Atihan Festival is already in place, according to Site Task Group Ati-Atihan.
The task force has prepared comprehensive security measures to ensure the safety of revelers and mitigate threats.
Activities for the “Mother of all Philippine Festivals” are lined up from Jan. 2 to 20.
On Dec. 19, the festival security and peace order committee conducted a meeting.
Superintendent Richard Mepania, chief of the Kalibo municipal police station, said 21 police assistance desks will be set up near festival venues for maximum deployment and police visibility.
Pedestrian screening area before entering the primary festival zones will also be established to monitor and check merrymakers, while inner and outer border checkpoints along highways will be manned by composite teams from the Philippine National Police and Philippine Army.
“We target zero major crime incidents and raise the level of trust and confidence of stakeholders that they feel safe in the Kalibo festival,” Mepania said.
Around 1,500 uniformed police personnel will monitor festival events.
Bulk of the police security – from Aklan municipal police stations and the Police Regional Office 6 – will be deployed on Jan. 17 to Jan. 20.
The Philippine Army 12th Infantry Battalion, force multipliers and emergency responders from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Aklan Philippine Red Cross, Kalibo Auxiliary Police, and Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team will augment the police security personnel.
Civil disturbance management and K9/EOD units will also be on standby for emergencies. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
