BAGUIO CITY – At least 1,400 police officers will secure the 2025 Baguio Flower Festival or Panagbenga, especially during the grand parades set on Feb. 22 and 23, the Baguio City Police Office said.

“We have policemen in uniform and plain clothes policemen who will be deployed in different locations to ensure the security not just at the parades but the city as a whole,” Col. Ruel Tagel, city police director, said Monday. 

Tagel said around 1,402 police personnel will be deployed by the BCPO, aside from the augmentation personnel from the Police Regional Office Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCAR) and the force multipliers. 

Aside from the parade routes and the central business district (CBD), police personnel will also conduct roving operations in the villages, he said.

“It is not just the tourists who will watch (the parades) but also (the) residents, leaving houses empty. Thieves might take advantage (of the situation) so we also encourage the public to ensure that their houses are properly locked when they go out,” he said. 

Tagel said traffic plans are in place, adding that they talking with officials of the different public schools for the school grounds to be used as parking area for the thousands of tourists who will be attending the festival. 

Panagbenga will formally open with a parade on Feb. 1, and various activities are spread out until the first weekend of March. (PNA)