Digong to attend Buglasan

President Rodrigo Duterte will be the guest of honor at the opening of the Buglasan Festival of Negros Oriental on October 13 in Dumaguete City, Gov. Roel Degamo said.

He added that Duterte has confirmed his arrival for the opening program of the weeklong Buglasan, in celebration of the festival of festivals in the province.

Security preparations are doubled, with visitors and tourists expected to flock to the province.

Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office director, Senior Supt. Edwin Portento, said requests for additional police personnel have been granted by the regional command.

In fact, whether the Muslim “Tabligue” is postponed or not, Portento has assured Negrenses that security requirements for all the activities are already in place.

Other expected guests are Senator Cynthia Villar and Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, Degamo said. Invitations were also sent to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office 7 wants an equal distribution in the number of personnel to be deployed to Negros Oriental and Occidental, following the dissolution of the Police Regional Office 18.

PRO-7 director, Chief Supt. Jose Mario Espino, stressed that the sharing of recruits should be 50-50, or commensurate to the population ratio of the two provincial commands.

There were about 600 new recruits of the PNP intended for PRO 18-Negros Island Region but after the dissolution, only about 80 have been deployed from the first 300 recruits and more than 100 from the second batch of 300 recruits, which he said is unfair for the NORPPO.

Espino said he will ask the national headquarters for equal distribution because NORPPO is also in dire need of personnel, including mobility requirements and firearms. It was learned that the 80 personnel are the ones coming from Negros Oriental only.

From the ideal ratio of 1:500, the present police force means a ratio of one cop to 1,000 residents, for a population of 1.3 million all over Negros Oriental.

Espino also directed Portento to make sure that the insurgency problem will not hinder the growth of the province, after he was told by Degamo that Negros Oriental had surpassed Cebu and other provinces in the region insofar as economic growth is concerned.

But for the governor, the insurgency threat in Negros Oriental is isolated and that a task force is taking care of it.

Espino also reminded Portento to continue the intensified operation against illegal drugs because it is the priority concern of the present leadership.