ILOILO CITY (PIA) – Over 7,200 government forces and forced multipliers are tasked by the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 to secure the Dinagyang Festival this year, aiming for no major crime incident to be reported during the entire celebration.
PRO-6 director Brigadier General (BGen) Jack Wanky, in his message during the send-off ceremony for the law enforcers on January 22, 2025, emphasized their roles to ensure that security threats should not make way into the spaces and disrupt the celebration.
“The parameters of our success are zero major crime incidents, no street crimes, and efficient and effective security response on emergencies,” Wanky stressed during the program at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand.
The PRO-6 mobilized a total of 7,257 security personnel for this year’s Dinagyang Festival, comprising of 3,369 from the Philippine National Police officers and 3,888 force multipliers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, City Health Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, Iloilo City Traffic and Transportation Management Office and Public Order and Safety Management Office, and other volunteer groups.
The PRO-6 said that this year’s deployment is lower than the 8,607 personnel assigned in 2024, but Wanky assured the public of strong security measures to assure the safety of the public and peaceful conduct of the activities.
“You are acting as a security contingent for the purpose of organizing our control on traffic management, emergency response, and most especially crime prevention and suppression,” Wanky said.
The send-off ceremony also featured the blessing of troops and display of available assets ready to be used during possible emergency situations, which include motorcycles, patrol cars, fire trucks, and ambulances, among others.
Meanwhile, Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) chief Police Colonel (PCol) Kim Legada, who leads the Site Task Group (STG) Dinagyang, said that they will deploy patrol and mobile units, put up command posts, police assistance desks, and checkpoints together with other security personnel to ensure the safety of the public.
“We meticulously prepared a security plan that encompasses every aspect of the festival – from crowd control, traffic flow, emergency response and intelligence operations. With these dedicated personnel being deployed, we are confident in maintaining order and approaching the safety of everyone involved,” Legada said. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
