PNP increases police presence for Christmas, New Year holidays
Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame
MANILA, Philippines — In line with the full alert status this Christmas season, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it increased the number of policemen to be deployed nationwide to more than 41,000.
Initially, Col. Jean Fajardo, PNP spokesperson, announced that 39,000 out of around 200,000 police personnel will be deployed in the coming days.
Fajardo further said the number of deployment will likely increase in the coming days.
“We also expect that, as Christmas and New Year’s are approaching, there will be an adjustment of figures [of cop deployment],” Fajardo said in a press conference in Camp Crame.
Fajardo said further increase is expected as “it would be prudent” for local ranking police officials to increase their deployment.
Article continues after this advertisementShe said the police will be deployed in places of worship, major thoroughfares, transportation terminals, and hubs to prepare for an influx of locals traveling to their respective provinces.
Article continues after this advertisementFajardo also reiterated that cops are not allowed to file their leave starting Dec. 15.
“We will not allow leaves except for those with emergencies,” she said. “This is to make sure that we will have enough personnel to deploy come holiday season.”
