Bacolod cops reactivate 'Task Force MassKara'

The police in Bacolod City have reactivated a task force to ensure peace and order as activities for the yearly MassKara festival starts this week. City Police Director Senior Superintendent Celestino Guara will personally head “Task Force MassKara," according to a report on the news site Visayan Daily Star. MassKara 2010 The MassKara festival is a week-long festival held each year in Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental province every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city's Charter Anniversary. The festival first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop and the price of sugar at that time was at an all-time low. It was also a time of tragedy. On April 22, 1980, the inter-island vessel Don Juan carrying many Negrenses, including those belonging to prominent families in Bacolod City, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 people died in the tragedy. Amid these tragic events, Bacolod City artists, local government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city at that time was also known as the "City of Smiles." They reasoned that a festival would help the residents overcome the gloomy atmosphere in the province. The festival was therefore, a declaration by the people that no matter how tough and bad the times were, Bacolod City would pull through and triumph. Five sub-groups Guara said Task Force MassKara will have sub-groups that will concentrate on intelligence work, traffic management, security, and public safety. He designated city police deputy for administration Superintendent Pedrito Escarilla as Task Force assistant commander. Chief Inspectors Noel Polines, Luisito Acebuche and Levy Pangue will also compose the task force. Guara said security preparations for the MassKara Festival are already in place, as Acebuche, Pangue and Polines have started coordinating with the festival committee. He said he has also tapped operatives from the Public Safety Management Battalion, Philippine Army, army reservists and other force multipliers to secure the revelers. Curfew for minors Meanwhile, minors will be barred from the MassKara festival site at the Bacolod Public Plaza from 10:00 p.m. onwards, unless they are with their parents, to avoid gang wars and skirmishes. Police recorded at least two casualties during the MassKara festival last year. Guara said they will exert more efforts to prevent them this year. More policemen will also be deployed at the Public Plaza and along Lacson Street, where the electric MassKara Festival will be held. –VVP, GMANews.TV