GENERAL SANTOS CITY, (PNA) — Police authorities in South Cotabato province has sustained the area’s full alert status in connection with the observance of the All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
Senior Supt. Romeo Ver, South Cotabato police director, said Wednesday all police units within the province’s 10 towns and lone city are currently on maximum deployment to ensure the area’s security for the annual celebrations.
“We extended the full alert status to sustain our intensified visibility and intelligence operations for the Undas,” he said.
The area’s security status was raised to the full alert level two weeks ago in preparation for the barangay elections last Monday.
Under a full alert status, all unit commanders were mandated to secure all police camps and offices, vital installations, key economic points and other places of convergence.
The leaves of absence of police officers and personnel were cancelled and all of them were required to report to their duty stations until the lifting of the alert status.
Ver said that during their security meetings for the barangay elections, they have started the discussions on their security strategies for the All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
He said specifically they laid down the security measures through operation plan or “Oplan Undas 2013.”
As part of the adopted security plan, he said they will establish police assistance desks starting Thursday in all private and public cemeteries in the province.
He said they will assign some personnel to supervise the flow of traffic in various roads leading to the cemeteries.
Ver added they will also conduct random security checkpoints and patrols in residential areas and public places to thwart any planned movements of criminal and terror groups.