Vigan City to establish tourism police force

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur – In a bid to preserve its image as the “Heritage City and Tourism Center of the North,” Mayor Ferdi Medina is organizing a “Tourism Police Force” to guard daily the tourist facilities in this city.

Mayor Medina said the members of the police force will use big horses in patrolling the tourist areas and other places that are being frequented by visitors.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has proclaimed Vigan as one of the heritage cities in the world for its centuries-old structures, among others. The inscription of this city into the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Cities was credited to the efforts of former Mayor Eva Marie S. Medina, wife of the incumbent mayor, Ferdi.

Eva Marie served as mayor for nine years during which, this former capital town was converted into a component city. The lady mayor was replaced by his husband, Ferdi, a successful businessman and is respected in the community.

According to Mayor Medina, the tourism police’s attire during special occasions would be similar to the “Katipuneros” during the Spanish occupation to make them more attractive to the visitors. During normal days, however, Medina said that they would just use the attire or uniform of the PNP.

He said that he would discuss this program to the PNP provincial command to get more ideas on how to effectively deploy the tourism police to better serve the tourists.

“We are planning to detail them in 12 to 24 hours along the tourism areas such as Crisologo St. and others,” added Medina.