The police sealed off the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City, yesterday in preparation for the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup tonight.

The stadium will be opened at 3 p.m. today for the match between the Philippine Azkals and the Mongolian national team that will start at about 7 p.m., Supt. Jefferson Descallar, Match Area Security Commander, said.

The Police Regional Office-6 and the Philippine Army have detailed at least 1,200 law enforcers at the stadium to ensure the security of VIPs and spectators.

Police assistance desks will also be put up near the Panaad stadium to assist the needs of those who will watch the game.

Security preparations are in place with K-9 units of both the Philippine Coast Guard and of the Army fielded in and around the stadium, while six ambulances and several fire trucks will also be on stand-by near the match area in case of emergency, Descallar said

The north road of the stadium will be utilized by vehicles of the VIPs, while south road will be used by the general public.

Spectators are urged not to bring hard and pointed objects and huge bags, while parents should not bring children 7-years-old and below, Descallar also said.

A security dry run was conducted yesterday while the Azkal players were practicing, and some policemen were reprimanded because their attention was not on the drill but on the practice game, Descallar told the DAILY STAR.

The Bacolod City Police Office is also in full alert.

City Police officer-in-charge, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, ordered the ten Bacolod police chiefs in the city to enhance police visibility on vital installations and places of convergence in the city, and to conduct massive checkpoints.

Police Regional Office 6 Director, Chief Supt. Cepriano Querol, has designated PRO 6 Deputy Director for Operations Senior Supt. Antonio Viernes to oversee the security preparations at the stadium and also directed the Regional Public Safety Battalion to provide a maximum number of personnel for the football event.

Querol said they will follow the same security systems they had in Kalibo, Akalan, during the Ati-atihan Festival and in Iloilo City during the Dinagyang Festival in January, where there were no untoward incidents reported.

Aside from the security of the players and VIPs, they have tapped the help of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, the civilian volunteers and the Reserve Training Officer Corps cadets to ensure crowd control, he said.

Querol appealed to the public to help keep the football match peaceful by providing the police information on any untoward incidents or on the presence of suspicious-looking individuals.

He also advised the public to be vigilant of their personal security because they cannot discount the possibility that petty crimes like pickpockets will occur.*APN

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