Island Pilgrimage: Guimaras coordinating with city gov't over security plans
Iloilo City Tourism Officer Ben Jimena said the provincial government of Guimaras is closely coordinating with the Iloilo city government for the security of all tourists who are going to witness the Pagtaltal on Good Friday and spend their Holy Week in the island province.
Jimena said they have already coordinated with the Iloilo City Police Office for the deployment of uniformed and non-uniformed police personnel at the Ortiz Wharf where most of the foreign and local tourists pass through. Peace and order should be maintained from the wharf up to the place where these tourists go, said Jimena. It was learned that the Guimaras Police Provincial Office also came up with their own security plan for the Lenten Week. Aside from watching the Pagtaltal reenactment, scaling the Balaan Bukid, tourists also visit the beautiful beaches in Guimaras.
Jimena said the action of the Guimaras provincial government is a manifestation of the cooperation that is needed among the different local government agencies. Iloilo City is the starting point in going to the different places in Guimaras and Iloilo province. Moreover, aside from the security preparations, the tourism office will also ask Mayor Jerry Treñas for the presence of utility workers from the General Service Office (GSO) to maintain the cleanliness in all city plazas. Dirty plazas will create a bad impression among the tourists, he said.
Tourists also visit different churches in the city especially during the Visita Iglesia. There are people who made their vows to visit the church everyday Good Friday.
Normally, the public plazas are full of vendors selling candles, soft drinks, fruit drinks and different sort of food stuff. People, however, do not throw their plastic cups, wrappers and other rubbish in the trash bins. People should observe proper garbage disposal, he said.