Sunday, April 17, 2011

Aklan PNP Holy Week and Summer Security Plan

The Aklan Police Provincial Office (APPO) is ready to secure the province of Aklan specifically the island of Boracay in anticipation of the influx of tourists for the Holy Week celebration and summer vacation.

Aklan police acting provincial director Senior Supt. Cornelio T Defensor, said Aklan PNP will deploy more policemen to guarantee the safety of thousands of tourists for the traditional Lenten break and summer vacation in all tourist destinations in Aklan.

The maximum deployment of PNP personnel will be implemented to ensure the public safety and security especially in the tourists destination of Boracay Island resort to secure the travelers, devotees and visitors.

To beef up the security, the APPO will deploy additional PNP personnel coming from the Aklan Public Safety Company. This will augment the existing security forces of the Boracay Special Tourist Police Office (BSTPO) and also the expected additional augmentation from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6).

"So far, on Monday we already augmented six (6) PNP personnel from the Aklan Public Safety Company in the island. If the need arises, augmentation from different municipal police stations and the Aklan Police Provincial Office (APPO) will be deployed in the island," Defensor stressed.

Every municipal police station will be putting up police assistance centers in strategic areas for Semana Santa since tourists are expected to spend their holiday vacation in every town, he added.

The PNP will be in full alert for the security of motorists, tourists and devotees during the Holy Week and summer vacation in the provinces and tourist destinations.

White Sand Quarry

On the other hand, Malay Mayor John Yap has reiterated his call to tourists not to extract white sand in this resort island even if it is only a handful.

This, after experts called for the preservation of the white sand which brought Boracay into the tourism world map.

Elena Brugger, Yap’s environment coordinator reported that aside from the prohibition of quarrying, the chief executive also disallows the white sand castle making which was once considered an attraction for tourists.

"According to experts from the University of the Philippines-Marine Sciences, the coral reefs of this resort island is only about 10-15 percent so we are alarmed over the continuous environmental degradation. Already, some of the beaches area in Boracay are suffering from the beach erosion because of climate change," said Brugger.

According to the experts, human activities in the white sand such as sand castle-making and quarrying destroy the contour of the white beach.

To further protect the white sand and the coral reefs from being destroyed, Mayor Yap is studying the possibility of regulating water sport activities in Boracay.

"The local government wanted to preserve the natural and environmental beauty of Boracay. We hope every tourist will cooperate so that the younger generation will still appreciate this resort island," Brugger said. (PNA) /MP

No comments: