BACOLOD CITY — To ensure the safety of guests, tourists, residents and participants during the celebration of the 45th MassKara Festival, the Philippine National Police is deploying 1, 828 security personnel from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), said LtCol. Romeo Vargas, operations chief of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO). Vargas said that the request for augmentation forces was already endorsed by the BCPO to PRO-6. At a press briefing by the organizing Bacolod Yuhum Foundation on Thursday, Vargas said the BCPO is also proposing a gun ban during the entire duration of MassKara Festival which will start on October 1 and will end on the 28th. This was already approved by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and endorsed to PRO-6, as reported by lawyer Joseph Chiu, secretary to the mayor. The final approval for the gun ban, he added, shall come from Camp Crame. The implementation of jamming cellular phone signals was also discussed during the press briefing but authorities are still weighing the benefits and drawbacks of the added security protocol. Vargas said they will also tap the services of the barangay tanod (village security force) and other force multipliers to augment the management of traffic and other related activities. The Bacolod Yuhum Foundation, meanwhile, reported a significant increase in sponsorship for this year's MassKara Festival, as more than 80 companies have pledged their support to make this year's celebration grander than last year. Katherine Matiling, president of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation, said that the growing number of sponsors is a testament of the Festival's reputation as a world-class event. "It has become bigger and larger each year also of its exposure to international events and the participation of popular artists," Matiling said. Last year, more than 50 sponsors supported the MassKara Festival, she said. More than 30 local artists including Cueshe, RKSTDY, TJ Monterde, Brownman Revival and Shamrock, among others are expected to take part and perform at various event sites throughout the festival, which will officially kick off on October 11. The closing celebration will be on the 27th. Ten Bacolod City barangay are also competing in the MassKara dance parade and arena competition, to be held at the Paglaum Stadium. Each barangay will get a subsidy of P700,000 from the city government. A P1 million prize awaits the grand prize winner. Meanwhile, 10 villages are participating in the Electric Masskara, a night parade, with each barangay getting a P300,000 subsidy, the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation said.
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