ILOILO — Nearly 500 additional police personnel from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) will be deployed to Iloilo City to bolster security operations for the Dinagyang Festival 2026, significantly reinforcing crowd control and public safety during the festival’s peak days.
IPPO director Police Colonel Bayani Razalan said a total of 479 personnel, mostly from the Provincial Mobile Force Company and various municipal police stations, will augment the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) from January 21 until the conclusion of the festival on the night of January 25.
Despite the deployment, Razalan assured the public that police operations in Iloilo’s municipalities will not be disrupted, stressing that the augmentation plan was carefully calibrated to maintain adequate manpower in the province.
In addition to the city deployment, around 40 IPPO personnel will be stationed at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to secure participants and visitors of festival-related food events.
Razalan added that police officers assigned to Dinagyang duties will be granted rest days after the event.
“Ang ginagawa ng IPPO after the Dinagyang Festival, binibigyan sila ng one to two days break para magpahinga,” he said.
Authorities will concentrate security operations in three major judging areas during the festival highlights on January 24 and 25: the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, Luna–Huervana Streets in La Paz district, and the Iloilo Sports Complex./PN
