Other than the traditional starting gun to flag off the participating athletes, there will be no other guns allowed for civilians during the Ironman 70.3 event on March 26 in Davao City.
Major Eudisan Gultiano, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO 11), disclosed on Wednesday that PRO 11 will be recommending the suspension of the “Permit To Carry Firearms Outside of Residence” (PTCFOR) in Davao Region during the major sporting event that is expected to draw thousands in participants and spectators.
“We might be recommending the suspension of PTCFOR a week before the Ironman event. Next week na yun at yun ang aming recommendation to suspend it in the entire Davao Region,” Gultiano said during the AFP PNP Press Corps media forum on Wednesday at The Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Gultiano said as part of the preparation, PRO 11 has augmented almost 4,000 PNP personnel to provide security not only for Araw ng Davao activities but particularly for Ironman events.
“We will be busy giving security sa Ironman na magtraverse from Davao City to Tagum City kaya napaka higpit na ng ating preparasyon diyan,” she said.
This year’s Ironman 70.3 will be composed of a 1.9-kilometer swim at the Davao Gulf, a 90-km bike ride from J.P. Laurel Avenue in Davao City to Tagum City and back, a half-marathon or 21-km run from Azuela Cove to NCCC VPlaza mall and back.
Meanwhile, Gultiano said the conduct of the Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO) continues with a priority focus on loose firearms.
She said Gen. Benjamin Silo Jr., PRO-11 regional director, already issued the directive of “One Strike Policy” directing the PNP to prioritize securing politicians in their area of responsibility (AOR).
“Pagdating sa protection ng elected politicians natin dito ang aming regional director BGen. Silo ay nagpababa ng directive na “One Strike Policy”. Ibig sabihin kung merong politician masaktan, ma-injured o mamatay sa kanilang area of responsibility (AOR) immediately ma-relieve ang COP. We wanted to prevent incidents that happened sa Negros Oriental that is why we put the responsibility sa ating mga commanders for prevention na may masaktan na politicans in Davao region,” she said.
The incident that Gultiano was referring to was the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo on March 4, 2023.
