Manila fields 1,700 cops for Holy Week, summer vacation

Almost 1,700 policemen from the Manila Police Distict will be deployed for the coming Holy Week and the rest of the summer vacation.

In a statement on Saturday, MPD Chief Supt. Joel Coronel said part of the 1,680 MPD officers assigned to Oplan Sumvac, Manila's security and counter-terrorism mission for the holidays, will be stationed around bus terminals, seaports such as Manila North and Manila South harbors, and other areas of public convergence.

“By the start of the month of April, we are already implementing our operational plan Sumvac 2017 and part of that is our Semana Santa preparations,” the MPD chief said.

About 760 police officers of the 1,680 officers will be dispatched to various churches around the city for the holidays as a safety precaution.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said this was necessary especially after the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed the presence of the Maute group, a terrorist cell from Lanao del Sur, in Manila.

“We can’t let our guard down, we do not have such luxury when protecting the safety of our constituents,” Estrada said.

Meanwhile, the MPD also announced there will be no traffic rerouting during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which are regular holidays. — Rie Takumi/MDM, GMA News