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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – Backpacks won’t be banned during Dinagyang Festival’s highlights this Saturday and Sunday.
But security will still be tight, said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog. Policemen will be inspecting backpacks that people bring, he stressed.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod recently passed an ordinance banning backpacks during the Dinagyang as a security measure.
But before it can be enforced, it must first be published in a newspaper of general circulation, and the city government did not have the time anymore.
According to Mabilog, policemen have been instructed to thoroughly check backpacks for deadly weapons and other public safety-hazard implements.
Of particular concern to the police are the areas where Dinagyang tribes will be performing – Freedom Grandstand, Iloilo provincial capitol area, Quezon Street, Mabini Street and Maria Clara area.
The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) is also not jamming cell phone signals during the festivities.
In several incidents in Mindanao, including the Davao City bombing in September last year, suspected terrorists detonated improvised explosive devices using cell phone signals.
The ICPO has not monitored Dinagyang-related security threats, said Sangrines.
“Some sectors here may have expressed concern about it perhaps due to the recent Black Nazarene feast security measures in Manila. But no, we don’t even have the equipment to jam cell phone signals,” said Sangrines.
The other day, the Iloilo City Police Office announced it was imposing a three-day gun ban beginning Jan. 20 to ensure peace and order when the city stages the Dinagyang Festival.
General Ronald Dela Rosa, director of the Philippine National Police, approved the suspension of PTCFOR (permit to carry firearms outside of residence).
The suspension covers civilian gun holders and government forces not in proper uniform.
“Gun ban violators will be jailed,” said Senior Inspector Shella Mae Sangrines, city police spokesperson.
The ICPO is mobilizing “thousands” of policemen and tapping the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies – National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Philippine Coast Guard – to keep Dinagyang revelers safe, she added.
Dinagyang’s Kasadyahan cultural contest will be held on Jan. 21. The ati-ati tribes competition is on Jan. 22./PN
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