On July 7, 2026, Governor Atty. Jose V. Gambito and BM Eunice Galima-Gambol, Chairperson for the Committee on Culture and Arts, with the Provincial Tourism and Culture Office and the Nueva Vizcaya Police Provincial Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of the Tourist Police Unit (TPU) in a ceremony held at the Ituy Function Room of the Executive Building, Capitol Compound, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

According to the NVPPO, the current number of personnel who were mobilized by the PTCO’s Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) training is 75, whose recruitment to the forthcoming unit will be prioritized. The TPU will then be governed by a police major, two captains, and one lieutenant, with the goal being to provide a ‘visible, capable, and responsive tourist police force’.

Governor Gambito supplemented the NVPPO’s preparation with assurances of the long-approved funding for the facilities needed by the NVPPO, such as its type-C TOPCOP headquarters to be established in Malico, Sta. Fe. The governor also reiterated that the administration’s focus is on agriculture and tourism, highlighting the long-term plan to convert Nueva Vizcaya into an adventure hub.

The governor also underscored the need for the PNP’s support for the burgeoning tourist presence in the province, as the safeguarding of tourist and local alike, as well as the maintenance of peace and order is considered paramount.

The ceremonial signing of the MOU is the final installment in the series of requirements for the establishment of the TPU, which has been in the works since 2016. The MOU signing formally inks the NVPPO and PTCO’s vital partnership and ‘shared commitment’ to peace and order in the province as regards tourism, securing the future of the industry in Nueva Vizcaya. /igmb

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