- GILBERT BAYORAN
The Bacolod City Police Office reported Monday that the Balik Yuhum-themed MassKara Festival, that ended Sunday, was successful and generally peaceful.
P/Lt. Col. Sherlock Gabana, BCPO spokesperson, said they have not recorded any major crime incident or MassKara-related incidents, from Oct. 1 to 23.
More than 2,000 police personnel, Army soldiers, Coast Guard, various rescue units, and force multipliers were deployed to secure the festival sites.
In a statement, BCPO director P/Col. Thomas Joseph Martir attributed the success of the festival to the “whole of nation approach” in security preparations that involved other government agencies.
With the support of all government agencies and the city government of Bacolod, which led the grandest festival ever, local and foreign tourists and festival goers were given the needed security and police assistance, Martir said.
Compared to the celebration of the festival in 2019, the BCPO noted a significant decrease in total festival and non-festival related crime incidents, from 150 to 61, with zero major incident reported in all festival sites this year.
At the culmination and awarding ceremony held Monday at the BCPO grounds, Councilor Psyche Marie Sy, chairperson of the Committee on Peace and Order of the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod, lauded Mayor Alfredo Benitez, the BCPO personnel, and the augmentation force from the Police Regional Office6 for the overwhelming success of the 43rd MassKara Festival.
P/Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco, regional police director of Western Visayas, assisted by Sy, conferred a Medalya ng Kasanayan or PNP Efficiency Medal to Martir, for being the Task Group MassKara commander, and P/Lt. Cols. Christopher Prangan and David Cachumbo, in line with the successful holding of the MassKara Festival this year.
Gabana said that force multipliers and government agencies were also given due recognition for their contribution to ensure the success of the world-renowned festival.
In his speech, Francisco expressed his appreciation to the Bacolod City government, and congratulated the men and women of BCPO and PRO6, who took part in the MassKara security preparations.
Festival director, Atty. Pinky Ocampo, meanwhile, thanked all Bacolodnons for the success of the 43rd MassKara Festival.
“Your support has truly been amazing and this has contributed in putting back the MassKara Festival as one of the best festivities in our country,” she said in a statement. “The Bacolod Yuhum Foundation is very thankful to the city government, led by the ever supportive Mayor Albee Benitez and the rest of the city officials and barangay officials.
“We are much grateful to the help extended by our law enforcers to ensure that peace and order was maintained throughout the festival,” Ocampo, also the president of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation, organizer of this year’s celebration, stressed.
She also thanked the Negros Occidental provincial government for partnering with us and the wholehearted support extended; the media partners, bloggers, vloggers, and influencers both here and abroad who helped promote the festival; national officials, celebrities, entertainers, athletes, and guests that added color to the festival and put smiles in people’s faces; the sponsors, and the volunteers, medics, and all those who took part in the 23-day festivity./GB
