KALIBO, Aklan—The Police Regional Office in Western Visayas is on red alert to ensure no major incident during the Ati-atihan festivity in the region.
Chief Police Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, chief of police regional director, said that, for Kalibo Ati-atihan, some 1, 495 police personnel have been deployed.
“Some 3,000 police augmentation, meanwhile, will be deployed for the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo on the last week of January. The police personnel will not only supervise security but also look out against illegal drugs,” Binag said.
Although there is no concrete intelligence, Binag urged the police not to be lax as threat for spillover of terrorism from Mindanao may happen.
“We will be continuously doing assessment in Western Visayas, not only for Ati-atihan but also for the entire year,” he added.
Aside from Kalibo and in the nearby province of Iloilo, other towns are also celebrating their respective Ati-atihan revelry. Among those were Ibajay, Makato, Altavas, Batan, Malinao and Boracay.
“We ask revelers and devotees to come and enjoy in honor of the Santo Niño, as we have enough police personnel to ensure peace,” he added.
