PEACEFUL HOLY WEEK. Police personnel on bikes ensure the peaceful observance of Good Friday in the municipality of Belison in Antique on April 7, 2023. Police Major Adolfo Pagharion, Antique Provincial Police Office Information Officer, said in an interview Monday (April 10, 2023) that the Holy Week observance in Antique was peaceful because of the high police visibility. (PNA photo courtesy of Belison Municipal Police Station)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Antique Provincial Police Office (APPO) reported a peaceful observance of the Holy Week in the province.
APPO information officer Maj. Adolfo Pagharion, in an interview Monday, said that the intensified police visibility and the establishment of police assistance desks (PADs) in convergence areas in the province like churches, public transport terminals and malls have helped deter any untoward incident.
“Thirty-two police personnel from the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 were deployed in Antique to beef up our police visibility from April 3 to 9,” Pagharion said, adding that augmentation has already returned to the regional headquarters in Iloilo City.
Pagharion said that with the ongoing summer vacation, however, they are already focused on securing the influx of tourists to various destinations of the province.
He said that the police personnel in their respective municipal assignments will be setting up PADs in tourist destinations to ensure the security of visitors.
“As observed only yesterday, April 9, there were around a thousand tourists who had visited the Madia-as Park in Culasi and also around the same number in an inland resort in Tibiao where there is a kayaking activity,” Pagharion said.
Tourists were also recorded to have visited Sibalom Natural Park, a preserved area, and the Mau-it River known as the Rainbow River because of the colorful semi-precious stones in the town of Sibalom.
“PADs will be set up in these tourist destinations, including in the Siraan Hot Spring in Anini-y because of the huge number of people who are expected to visit,” Pagharion said.
He said that APPO director Col. Alexander Mariano always reminds the public to be conscious of their safety, especially when they travel to Antique this summer vacation.
“They have to make sure that their vehicles are in their best conditions and for them to observe traffic rules,” he said.
This is also the same reminder to the public who are now on their way back home to Iloilo or other places in Panay island after spending their Holy Week in Antique. (PNA)
