LINGAYEN – Some 100 newly recruited policemen from the Police Regional Office in San Fernando, La Union were deployed to augment existing policemen in Pangasinan this Holy Week.

Police Provincial Director Alan Purisima said he requested the augmentation force from Police Regional Director Alfredo de Vera, noting that the number of local policemen will not be enough to secure all tourist-frequented areas in the province.

The new police recruits were deployed in places like beaches, resorts and the Hundred Islands, that are now being flocked to by local and foreign tourists, as well as the religious centers of Manaoag and Calasiao.

In Manaoag where pilgrims and devotees various parts of the country go, visitors reached some 100,000 or more on Good Friday alone, it was reported.

Calasiao is famous for its Señor Divino Tesoro, enshrined just beside the municipal hall there, which is being mobbed by devotees, all-year round, who savor the local tasty rice cake called “puto”, a favorite take-home delicacy.

At the same time, he ordered police chiefs in towns where the national highway passes through the assist in implementation of Operation Summer Vacation which already started last Palm Sunday.