160 ICPO officer deployments

planned for opening salvo

Ahead of the Iloilo Dinagyang 2020 opening salvo, which kicks off tomorrow, January 10, the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) will be deploying 160 police officers, along with an augmentation force from regional command and 320 force multipliers, to maintain security.
“We expect a big volume of the crowd will watch the initial performance of the tribes,” explained ICPO director, Police Colonel Martin Defensor. “This is also a dry-run for our deployment during the Dinagyang Festival.”
“We are ready for our deployment,” he affirmed.
The ICPO official also offered advice to those planning to attend Friday’s festivities.
“As much as possible magdala lang sila ng pera na tama lang at hindi sila mag-wear ng mga jewelry para hindi sila mabiktima ng mga lawless elements (As much as possible, revelers should only bring an adequate amount of cash and they also should not wear jewelry in order to avoid being targeted by lawless elements),” he said. “Hindi rin sila magdala ng maliliit na bata baka maipit sa crowd (They also should not bring small children as they may get caught in the crowd).”
Tomorrow’s events are scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at four judging areas across the city, the Freedom Grandstand, Central Market, and the corners of Iznart-Solis Streets and Valeria-Ledesma Streets.
Eight tribes are expected to each perform presentations.
The event will also include a prelude for Dagyang sa Calle Real, which will formally take place on January 25; along with appearances by this year’s Miss Iloilo 2020 candidates.
Meanwhile, a fireworks display at the Freedom Grandstand will cap off the start of Dinagyang./WDJ