The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) has deployed 1,400 personnel across the province to ensure safety and security during the observance of Holy Week, an official said yesterday.

Lt. Stephen Polinar, NOPPO spokesperson, said these personnel were sourced from different police stations excluding the Provincial Mobile Force companies and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

“We are on full alert status with all police station personnel required to be on duty during the observance of Holy Week starting from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday,” Polinar said.

The police personnel will secure churches, the airport, seaports, passenger terminals for buses, and other public land transportation, resorts, malls, and other places of convergence, he added.

The Philippine Army, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fire Protection are also fielding their personnel as part of a security contingency plan that covers not only the Holy Week and the summer vacation but also the May 12 midterm elections.

Polinar said the police chiefs have been directed to coordinate with the parishes in their areas for individual security requirements, especially on days when people are expected to flock to the churches for religious activities.

These activities include the Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday evening, April 17; the Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross Procession at dawn on Good Friday, April 18; the Seven Last Words, the Santo Entierro and the Soledad also on Good Friday, and the “Sugat” Procession on Easter Sunday, April 20, depicting the meeting of the Risen Christ and His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Polinar said police assistance desks are in place while regular patrols are also being conducted.

A total of nine checkpoints are carried out daily, he added. (PNA)