THOUSANDS spent Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Saturday at the Tondaligan in Dagupan, savoring the vastly improved rest and recreation area by the beach initiated by the city government.

The city government jointly launched on Wednesday Oplan Semana Santa and Oplan Baywatch to ensure a stress-free long holiday weekend for residents and visitors alike.

The beachgoers started coming in on Monday, their numbers peaking on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The huge crowd gave the owners and operators of the newly-built huts and sheds in the park a good earning weekend.

The new look at Tondaligan was complemented by a multi-department beach patrol and monitoring system that provided shed renters and beach swimmers various forms of assistance and security during their stay at the beach.

Police officers and volunteers, casually dressed, including policewomen in fatigue shorts and black shirts were very visible in all areas of the beach, moving around in tandem to ward off any moves by troublemakers and assure beach visitors’ safety.

A command post set up at the Park Administration Office went busy coordinating and assisting visitors, particularly first-time roamers in the park on a 24-hour basis. Personnel of the Red Cross and volunteer medical and health personnel manned their posts.

The city government had earlier sought the cooperation of the shed owners to strictly observe cleanliness in their premises and at the public restrooms Two beach towers afforded lifeguards a vantage scanning point for any untoward incident at the beach and in the water.

“We will ensure that even as the whole nation goes into quiet reflection, our people will feel safe and secure wherever they may be found in the city, ” City Administrator Alvin Fernandez said in a radio interview about the active preparations taken by the city in anticipation of the flocking of beachgoers during the Holy Week holidays.