Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 14) — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will tighten the security for the holiday season as Simbang Gabi starts on Monday.
PNP has placed all police units in Luzon and Visayas on full alert status starting 6am on Sunday, throughout the holiday season until January 5.
PNP Officer-in-Charge PLtGen. Archie Gamboa said that 69,335 police personnel along with 157,264 force multipliers will be deployed during the holiday season.
Police will be deployed at community firecracker and display zones, assistance hubs, places of worship, commercial centers, road safety points, sea ports, train stations, and airports.
PNP also ordered police units to beef up night shift personnel and increase police visibility especially in places near churches.
“We do not really anticipate major peace and order issues during the Yuletide season, but, we are deploying more policemen in the field as a crime prevention measure,” Gamboa said in a statement.
He also instructed field unit commanders to deploy mobile patrol units with blinkers on to visibly establish police presence.
