CEBU (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 9, 2014) – Philippine police have suspended for 15 days all permits allowing civilians to carry licensed weapons outside the homes in Central Visayas.
Police Director General Allan La Madrid Purisima approved the order which took effect on January 8 and shall until January 22 because of the Catholic celebration of the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City.
The order also bars civilians who are travelling to Cebu City during the period. Only uniformed policemen and military personnel and law enforcers on official mission are exempted to the ban.
The suspension of the permit is part of the security preparation of the festival to ensure tranquility of the weeklong celebration of Sinulog, one of the biggest festivals in the Philippines.
The annual festival, which is highlighted by street dancing, honors the Santo Niño or the child Jesus.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a spokesman for the regional police in Western Mindanao, said Catholic devotees in the region are expected to flock to Cebu to join the festival.
“It is anticipated that Christian devotees from the Zamboanga Peninsula will troop to Cebu City to join the Sinulog Festival. We appeal to holders of licensed firearms who have permit to carry of firearms outside their residence to refrain from bringing along with them their guns when attending the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City,” Huesca, who is also the head of the Firearms, Explosives, Security Agencies and Guards Section in Western Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
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