THE just-concluded 43rd MassKara Festival was generally peaceful with zero casualty and no major incidents reported in various areas of Bacolod City.
Lieutenant Liberty Indiape, deputy public information officer of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said yesterday, October 24, that BCPO deployed more than 2,000 security personnel with an augmentation from Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO-6) to ensure the success of this year's festival.
Indiape said the augmentation personnel also returned to their mother units in PRO-6 effective yesterday.
Colonel Thomas Joseph Martir, director of BCPO, in a statement, said the 23-day festival was a success in as far as peace and order and public safety are concerned.
He said that the security preparations and the deployment of police personnel with BCPO force multipliers also proved effective at the festival venues.
Martir noted that with the support of all government agencies and the local government of Bacolod City that spearheaded the "grandest festival" ever after the coronavirus disease (Covid- 19) pandemic, all visitors, local and foreign tourists and festival goers were given the needed security and police assistance.
Martir said BCPO recorded a significant decrease in the total festival and non-festival related crime incidents with only 61 incidents.
Also, there were zero major incidents reported in all festival sites this year compared to 150 incidents during the 2019 MassKara celebration.
For her part, Councilor Psyche Marie Sy, chairperson of the City Council committee on peace and order, also expressed her gratitude to the BCPO personnel and the augmentation personnel from PRO-6 for the overwhelming success of the MassKara Festival.
Sy along with Brigadier General Leo Francisco, regional director of PRO-6, pinned the Medalya ng Kasanayan or the PNP Efficiency Medal to Martir as commander Site Task Group (STG) MassKara; Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Prangan, deputy city director for administration as Site Sub-Task Group (STTG); and Lieutenant Colonel David Cachumbo Jr., deputy city director for operations as STTG commander for peace and order.
The force multipliers and government agencies were also given due recognition for their contribution in the success of the three-week festivity.
Francisco also expressed his gratitude to the local government for the support, as he lauded the men and women of BCPO and PRO-6 who took part in the security preparations for the celebration.
"Keep it up in your daily routine not only during special deployment and I'm sure that you will continue to contribute greatly in the improvement of the safety of the general public" he added.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. thanked all Bacolodnons for the success of the 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," its president Atty. Pinky Mirano-Ocampo said.
The organizer said they are thankful to the city government led by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, 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," Mirano-Ocampo said, adding that "our thanks to the provincial government as well for partnering with us and the wholehearted support they've extended."
The organization said "Thank you to all the national officials, celebrities, entertainers, athletes, and guests that added color to our festival and put smiles in the people's faces."
"Many thanks as well to our media partners, the bloggers, vloggers and influencers both here and abroad who helped promote the festival. To our sponsors, our gratitude. We would not have been able to pull this off without your generosity," it added.
Mirano-Ocampo also thanked their team, volunteers, medics, and all the participants who took part in the 23-day festivity.
Themed "Balik Yuhom" (Smile Again), the festival was held from October 1 to 23, 2022.
No less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who graced the festival highlights, lauded the city government for holding the "most successful" MassKara Festival.
In fact, he said, the festival showed that the Philippines is already bouncing back and that Filipinos are ready to go back to their normal lives.*
