SOME 300 policemen will be deployed around Araneta Center in Quezon City on Sunday when boxing champion Manny Pacquiao battles Mexican Oscar Larios, an official said.
In addition, bomb-sniffing dogs will patrol the vicinity while several ambulances will be positioned outside the venue, Metro Manila police chief Director Vidal Querol said Friday.
“The entire country will watch the Pacquiao-Larios fight. Our troops will augment the [in-house] security of the Araneta,” Querol told reporters, adding, “It’s all systems go.”
Vic Gana, operations manager of the Araneta Center, said in a separate interview that they expected an audience of 8,000-10,000 on Sunday. The coliseum has a capacity of 15,000.
Querol said the anti-terrorism drill held at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday morning doubled as a dry-run for a possible stampede.
“We are prepared for any scenario [but] it’s very remote that something like that [terror attack] will happen,” he said.
“We want to make sure that everything will be alright. We’re not sure what will happen,” said Grace Magno, Araneta Center vice president for marketing.
During the terror drill, police simulated how they would respond should terrorists bomb the Araneta Coliseum.
