BAGUIO CITY: Some 1,661 law enforcers and force multipliers will be deployed to secure the 28th edition of the Panagbenga on Saturday, February 24, and Sunday, February 25.
The said personnel are assigned to manage the traffic, control the crowd, and ensure law and order during the conduct of the two main events of the annual spectacle — the grand street dance parade on Saturday and the grand floral parade on Sunday.
Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr., city director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), said that the local police and force multipliers are ready for the tasks on hand.
A total of 811 personnel will come from the different BCPO stations in the city, 226 from the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR), 461 interns from different higher education institutions in the city, 120 volunteers from government offices and civic organizations, and 42 traffic aides from the City Engineering Office-Traffic and Transportation Management Division (CEO-TTMD).
Some 120 plain clothes policemen will also be deployed in various areas around the city as part of the strategy to deter crimes against persons and properties that may be committed by unscrupulous individuals wanting to take advantage of the festive mood.
The BCPO official said personnel pulled out from different stations and offices will serve as part of crowd control, while augmentation from the PRO-COR will temporarily discharge the duties of policemen pulled out from their posts.
Bulwayan said the deployed policemen and force multipliers will be equipped with the necessary radio communication equipment that is tuned to the designated BCPO frequency so developments in their respective areas of assignment could be monitored and proper actions be taken by concerned authorities once the need arises during Panagbenga.
The police officer said law enforcers and force multipliers will be deployed along the parade route at the earliest possible time to ensure security in the said area ahead of the expected arrival of people for a better vantage point of the street dance and floral parade.
He advised residents and tourists to cooperate with the traffic rules and regulations that will be temporarily enforced during the conduct of the Panagbenga to avoid unnecessary altercations.
The grand street dance parade will feature six elementary and seven festival dance contingents on Saturday, while the grand floral parade will feature 34 beautifully decorated and landscaped floats on Sunday.
The city and organizers of this year's edition have earlier declared their readiness for the two big events highlighting the annual festival.
The annual spectacle is expected to draw thousands of tourists who are looking to witness the festival's twin highlights set over a 5-kilometer route in the famous mountain hideaway.
Some thirteen contingents composed of six elementary drum and lyre groups and seven festival dance groups will be showcasing spectacular and sterling performances before the huge crowd expected to gather along the parade route from the Panagbenga Park in South Drive.
The grand street dance parade on Saturday will pass through Lower and Upper Session Road, Magsaysay Avenue, Harrison Road, Jose Abad Santos Drive and will end at the Melvin Jones football field.
The entries to the elementary category are all from the city including Baguio Central School, Apolinario Mabini Elementary School, Lucban Elementary School, Manuel Roxas Elementary School, Tuba Central School and Jose Laurel Elementary School.
Performers that will join the festival dance category are the Baguio City National High School (Special Program in the Arts), Bitulok Tribe street dancers (Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija), Bani Pakwan Festival dancers (Bani, Pangasinan), Tribu Palayano (Palayan City, Nueva Ecija), Tribu San Carlos Kinayasan street dancers (San Carlos City, Pangasinan), Narvacan Naisangsangayan (Narvacan, Ilocos Sur) and Tribu Rizal (Rizal, Kalinga).
On the other hand, some 34 beautifully decorated and landscaped floats will be joining this year's record-breaking grand floral parade along a shorter parade route from Upper Session Road, Lower Session road, Harrison Road, Jose Abad Santos Drive and will end up at the Melvin Jones grandstand on Sunday.
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