PNP: Dinagyang 2010 peaceful
Amid the festive mood, Dinagyang 2010 remains peaceful all through out the several days of celebration.
“Ilonggos and tourists, both foreign and local, celebrated the event merrily and peacefully,” assessed Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) director Senior Supt. Melvin Mongcal.
He cited that no major incident took place in the two-day Kasadyahan and Dinagyang Festival last January 23 and 24, respectively.
“There was no stabbing or shooting incident for the duration of the celebration,” Mongcal noted.
A fistfight among minors near the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds slightly marred the whole scenario, he added.
“What’s important was nobody was killed or injured,” the ICPO chief said.
Mongcal also reported that no person was yielded with any bladed instrument or firearm.
ICPO operatives religiously conducted Oplan Bakal wherein some revelers were frisked for possible possession of deadly weapon.
Checkpoints were also set up in several strategic areas prior before and during the celebration.
But on top of these reasons, Mongcal attributed the peaceful celebration to the community and the revelers themselves.
“I could say that the major factor of the peaceful outcome of Dinagyang has to be with the mindset of the people. They came here with in mind that they would just enjoy the celebration and nothing more. They did not bring any weapon because they don’t expect any conflict or violence to occur,” he added.
He also lauded the preparations that authorities did.
On top of the checkpoints they conducted, Mongcal said that it also helped that they did pre-emptive deployment of uniformed police personnel.
To note, almost a thousand policemen were deployed to secure the revelers.
All of 560 ICPO policemen were made available for the celebration.
Some of them remained at the stations while two-thirds of the ICPO police force comprising of about 350 policemen, were earmarked for the celebration.
ICPO was also augmented by policemen from the field training program numbering to about 267.
The number also got a boost from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), which sent some 100 personnel, and the Regional Public Management Safety Battalion also sent out another 100 warm bodies.
“We concentrate our personnel in concert areas and at the vicinity where food festivals were placed. I think, it helped a lot,” Mongcal said.
With the Dinagyang celebration over, ICPO is now bracing for the annual fiesta at Jaro district.
The celebration also serves as a venue for the Candelaria Festival, a yearly gathering of cockfight enthusiasts from all over the country.
