By JEN BAYLON
A total of 1,828 police personnel will be deployed for the upcoming 45th MassKara Festival in October.
Colonel Romeo Vargas, operations management unit chief of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), in a press conference of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation yesterday, said the deployment includes augmentation from the Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6).
A citywide gun ban and suspension of permits to carry firearms outside of residence will also be implemented from October 11 to 28.
Stringent screening measures will also be implemented at festival sites, with ongoing discussions about restrictions on backpacks, to prevent potential criminal activities during the festivities.
Signal jam
Vargas said they are still studying whether to implement signal jamming during the festival highlights on October 26, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and October 27, from 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.
Bacolod City Government Center, Bacolod Public Plaza, Lacson Tourism Strip, and Megaworld Upper East were identified as four main venues for MassKara.
Councilor Jason Villarosa, chair of the committee on tourism, said Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and concerned government agencies will evaluate BCPO’s request to implement signal jams.
For Villarosa, he will not implement signal blocking during the festival highlights because communication is important.
Benitez’s secretary Karol Joseph Chiu said the BCPO and the city government will instead set up a coordination committee for peace and order.
Chiu said signal jamming aims for the safety of festival goers, but cellular signals are also necessary, and the implementation should be balanced.
He instead suggested increasing safety measures, such as the deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs at festival sites.
Chiu said Benitez has already endorsed the gun ban request to PRO-6.
7 participating barangays
Only seven barangays will participate in the MassKara Street Dance and Arena Competition, the highlight of this year’s MassKara Festival on October 27.
Councilor Jason Villarosa, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Tourism, said only Barangays 6, 12, 18, 21, 35, Bata, and Granada are qualified to join the contest.
The city government will provide a subsidy amounting to P700,000 for each participating barangay.
The grand prize for the Street Dance and Arena Competition remains at P1 million.
Villarosa said the majority of the disqualified villages did not liquidate their subsidies used during last year’s street dance contest.
Barangays 5, 8, 10, 11, 17, 19, 29, 36, 39, and Pahanocoy will participate in the Electric MassKara.
They will receive a subsidy of P300,000 each./JB, WDJ