ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Tourists visiting major destinations in the country can expect more polite and friendly policemen clad in polo shirts and knee-length shorts.
The Philippine National Police and the Department of Tourism (DOT) are set to deploy specially-trained police units in 14 major tourist destinations to secure and assist tourists.
Supt. Ranulfo Demiar, Western Visayas police spokesperson, said on Wednesday that tourist police units would be set up under the PNP-DOT program Tourist Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TopCop).
The special units will be sent to Boracay Island, Metro Manila, Cebu, Camarines Sur, Baguio City, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, Zambales, Bohol, Puerto Princesa City, Camiguin, Cagayan Valley, Negros Oriental and Ilocos Norte.
The tourist police units, except the existing Boracay Special Tourist Police Office, will be patterned after the Bohol Tourist Police Unit which has seven-member police teams assigned to tourist destinations on the island.
Tourist assistance centers staffed by a team from the PNP, the DOT and the local government will also be set up in tourist destinations.
In police stations at the 14 tourist sites, tourist assistance desks will be organized to provide assistance to tourists.
The tourist police units would be organized from the existing police units but would be transformed later into a separate structure as the National Operational Support Unit, said Demiar.
The policemen would undergo training on tourism and dealing with tourists, tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta said.
Source: Pilippine Daily Inquirer
No comments:
Post a Comment