TAGUM CITY- Police here has been placed on full alert status starting on Monday, a week before the nation’s observance of All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) or Undas, a police official said.
Supt Solomon de Castilla, Tagum chief of police, said that “police personnel will be dispatched to various key points in the city to secure the public during the observance of Undas and in preparation for Tagum’s parochial fiesta this month.”
“We are beefing up our preparations for the upcoming Undas and Tagum’s parochial fiesta. Since we are on full alert, the public should expect an increase in police visibility in our areas of responsibility,” he said.
He said that an augmentation force from Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office will be utilized to secure the public cemeteries and churches in Tagum.
“We already asked additional police personnel from PNP provincial office and from the regional public safety to battalion to augment our police forces here in Tagum.”
De Castilla identified eight public cemeteries where police authorities will closely monitor, namely: Madaum Public Cemetery, Busaon Public Cemetery, Bingcungan Public Cemetery, Palm Haven Public Cemetery, Orchard Cemetery, Glorious Memorial Park, Pagsabangan Public Cemetery, and La Filipina Cemetery.
“As part of our security plan, we will be strictly implementing the liquor ban. Sharp and deadly weapons will be confiscated because these are prohibited in public cemeteries. Their security is our utmost concern so I appeal to the public to cooperate with us,” De Castilla appealed.
When asked to comment on the current peace and order situation in Tagum, De Castilla said it is “manageable”, noting “Tagum PNP were able to solve some reported isolated crime incidents.”
He further noted that crime index in Tagum were relatively “low” where he attributed this as a result of a new strategy concocted by the Tagum PNP after the concluded Peace Forum here.”
“Beats are assigned in some key areas where there’s a convergence of people. We believed this is effective also to deter or pre-empt crimes,” he said.
Meanwhile, De Castilla said that aside from the security concerns, “the local government of Tagum and several organizations will also set-up health stations inside the public cemeteries for emergency cases.” (davaotoday.com)
