Bacolod City police director, Senior Supt. Pedro Merced, yesterday warned all precinct commanders not to lower their guards to pre-empt possible terrorists attack during the celebration of 27th Masskara Festival in the city.

So far he said, he is thankful that the Masskara celebration is relatively peaceful since no major incidents have happened at the festival sites, Merced said.

Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that security has always been a top priority of his administration because he does not want any untoward incident to happen. It's more of a preventive measure and we want to retain the image of the MassKara as a peaceful festival, he said.

Leonardia yesterday appealed to the public to observe regulations. He said the MassKara is successful because people participate and he requested everybody to be contributory to the maintenance of peace and order.

If the public see any suspicious activities or people, they should report them to the authorities, Leonardia said, adding that peace and order enforcement groups are strategically located in the festival sites. Peace and order is not the exclusive business of the police, it is everybody's business, he added.

Leonardia said he personally believes the bombing of the airport facilities in Silay City Sunday has not been timed because Bacolod is holding the MassKara Festival. Perhaps that was a time the perpetrators saw an opportunity to strike, he said. There should be more stringent security measures on government facilities like the airport in Silay.

"But if you look at it from a positive point of view the incident would be some kind of a wake-up call to everybody, especially now that we are celebrating the MassKara," Leonardia said.

Leonardia said he had always been for the retention of the Bacolod domestic airport and that he was amenable for its transfer as long as it is within Bacolod City. He said when he was Mayor from 1995-1998, he spearheaded the campaign to retain the Bacolod airport.

He said he had asked Secretary to the Mayor Roger Balo, many months ago, to study the possibility of having the Bacolod domestic airport continue to operate, even with after the airport in Silay has opened.*DMG/CGS

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