Some 613 personnel of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), other uniformed service units, and emergency response teams have been deployed yesterday to secure the three-day Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival which starts on Friday afternoon, May 26.

The security forces were dispatched during a ceremony held at the BCPO gymnasium.

The send-off was headed by Lt. Colonel Edel Jose Manzano and Lt. Colonel Ronnie Brillo, deputy city directors for administration and operations, respectively, on behalf of Colonel Noel Aliño, acting city director, together with Pastor Joelan Toribio, who led the prayer and blessing of the troops.

Aliño told reporters on Wednesday, May 24, they have already initiated skeletal deployment before the actual event and aside from the personnel that will be assigned to the festival sites, a reactionary support force will also be on standby.

“We will do team work for this,” he added.

The personnel of BCPO will be joined by members of the Philippine National Police Regional Mobile Force Battalion, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Bacolod Traffic Authority Office, and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

They will be assigned to five festival sites.

At 5:00 p.m. on Friday, the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival opening ceremony will be held at North Capitol Road to be followed by a beer tasting and pairing of chef’s inasal versions.

On Saturday, May 27, the Barangay Inasal Cook-Off while the Chicken Inasal Awards will be held.

A live cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Jose Sarasola will also be featured.

The last day of the festival will be highlighted by the longest chicken-grilling event. (PNA)