By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said the security situation of the ongoing Panaad sa Negros Festival 2023 is manageable and there were no major incidents recorded so far.

NOCPPO spokesperson, Police Captain Judesses Catalogo said they only logged minor incidents during the festival’s first three days.

On Monday, April 17, they recorded a fist fight involving two individuals.

It was later settled by both parties after they were brought to Police Station 7.

Catalogo added the NOCPPO also received a complaint from a participant in the festival’s cultural events, where a mobile phone and passport were lost at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City’s Barangay Mansilingan.

The second day of the Panaad sa Negros, April 18, recorded no incidents, while on the following day, the provincial police logged an incident of misunderstanding involving a couple which was referred to Police Station 7.

The NOCPPO handles the police security inside the Panaad Park and Stadium, the venue of the weeklong Panaad sa Negros.

However, any detention and filing of criminal charges will be handled by Police Station 7.

Catalogo said it is important that the police officers assigned to Panaad Park will immediately respond and prevent even the smallest of incidents.

A total of 680 personnel are overseeing the safety and security of the festival until Sunday, April 23.

A gun ban was implemented in the entire province, including Bacolod, during the Panaad Festival, according to a memorandum from Philippine National Police chief, General Rodolfo Azurin, Jr.

The Panaad sa Negros Festival is dubbed the “Festival of all Festivals” in Negros Occidental.

It went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic./DGB, WDJ