Cebu City (CNN Philippines) — Admittedly overwhelmed by the number of people in this year’s Sinulog festival, the Philippine National Police said on Monday (January 18) that the problem with crowd control continues to be their biggest challenge.
According to Sr. Supt. Marciano Batiancela Jr., head of security preparations, the crowd was larger than they expected it to be. He estimated the crowd to be at more than three million.
Aside from the overwhelming number of attendees in Sinulog Festival, Batiancela also pointed out that he even had to raise his voice for some rowdy and drunken participants who crossed the cordon.
The Sinulog parade ended around 9:00 in the evening.
People who watched the parade had to walk as throngs of people heading to street parties had blocked several portions of the Osmeña Boulevard.
Even though the local government ditched requests for street parties along the parade route, it was not religiously followed.
Batiancela attributed the bigger crowd this year to the additional guests that have come also for the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC).
Now that the Sinulog is over, Batiancela said the police would now focus on their next task—the 51st IEC.
