The Philippine National Police on Wednesday deployed tighter security protocols around the site of a collapsed nine-story building in Angeles City following the official termination of emergency rescue efforts.
PNP chief P/Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the Central Luzon Police Regional Office (PRO-3) and the Angeles City Police Office were instructed to focus on securing the area and assisting affected families as retrieval operations continue.
“As operations in Angeles City officially transition from rescue to retrieval, I have directed the RD, PRO-3, and the local police force to shift their primary focus toward establishing a tight security perimeter, managing crowd control, and providing absolute, compassionate assistance to the affected families,” Nartatez said.
The building collapse in Barangay Balibago last Sunday prompted a large-scale inter-agency response involving the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Office of Civil Defense, and local disaster councils.
Rescue teams spent several days searching through debris before authorities declared the end of rescue operations and the start of retrieval efforts.
“Our personnel on the ground are strictly ordered to preserve the dignity of the deceased, facilitate the swift and orderly movement of disaster response vehicles, and maintain a secure environment so that clearing and structural safety assessments can proceed without delay,” Nartatez said.
The PNP chief also directed PRO-3 to maintain round-the-clock police visibility around the collapse site. Additional personnel will be deployed for traffic management and crowd control in surrounding areas of Barangay Balibago to prevent disruptions as heavy equipment and retrieval teams continue operations.
“This crisis has shown that our joint communication channels and unified command structure at the Incident Command Post are highly effective, allowing our police units to perfectly complement the technical clearing operations of our military and fire counterparts while ensuring public safety and order on the ground,” Nartatez said.