La Trinidad strengthens night watch

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Liga president and Councilor Robert Namoro said there is a need to strengthen the barangay neighborhood watch to keep the peace in the Valley.

“Our barangay tanods are working on a purely voluntary basis,” he said.

The recent spate of dead bodies found in villages here have given residents something to worry about, with one of the victims laid to rest but another still missing proper identification.

Namoro said to augment the shortage of cops in the Valley an empowerment of peacemaking teams in each barangay is needed. “We need to report to the police if we find anything suspicious,” he said.

Namoro said keeping the peace in all 16 barangays is a task which residents as well as peacekeeping teams should undertake.

Namoro said, “We should task our neighbors to be vigilant,” advocating for the resurgence of the bayanihan spirit within villagers and neighbors.

The barangay based patrol system can be used as a deterrent for crimes as well as a strict implementation of the liquor ban and curfew for minors.

Valley cops are undermanned with a ratio here pegged at a lone police officer manning 2,000 residents.

Namoro said the barangay tanods in the Valley need all the help they can get. “They are not working on a full time basis; it is out of pure volunteerism,” he added.