Councilor calls for resignation of Oro police chief

A CITY councilor on Tuesday demanded for the resignation of Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) Director Gerardo Rosales.

Councilor Edgar Cabanlas said Rosales is to be blamed for the series of robbery and crimes that occurred in the city, which still remain unsolved.

During Tuesday’s regular session, Cabanlas cited a report of Councilor Roger Abaday that criminals are still on the loose, which has “caused the breakdown of the city’s peace and order.”

“Rosales should step down from his post as police chief since he did not give his best shot to solve these crimes. He will be held accountable and must answer on what’s happening now in the city,” he said.

On Thursday of last week, a branch of LBC in Barangay Gusa was ransacked by three armed men, taking away more than P10,000 cash.

On Monday, a loading station was also robbed by two armed suspects and took away about half a million pesos worth of cash and card loads.

On Tuesday, a salesman was also held up of his day’s earnings worth P25,000 by three armed suspects.

Abaday said because of the series of robbery in the city, members of the Cagayan de Oro Filipino-Chinese Business Chamber called his attention as they claimed that the suspects are big time organized syndicate who come from Cebu and Manila.

“Local businessmen are now calling for immediate action on these issues as they are now alarmed and afraid that their safety will be jeopardized,” he said.

Abaday said police authorities must be bold and aggressive and must be active in dealing with these criminals.

For his part, Councilor Ramon Tabor said local police authorities have their shortcomings as he also understood Abaday’s point.

“We cannot blame him (Abaday) since there is a big difference between theory and actual practice. But in reality, despite the limitations of the local police, some of them have tried hard in doing their part to attain peace and order in the city,” Tabor said.

He said the people seem to focus more on the series of crime but failed to consider the police’s achievements.

“I will not support the call for Rosales’ resignation for he has his way of doing his best despite his limitations. There are bad elements roaming around and even in highly industrialized cities, crimes are happening. Let us not resort into rush decisions,” Tabor said.

Tabor claimed that police are not solely to be blamed for these crimes since maintaining the city’s peace and order is not only the responsibility of the police but also the residents.

Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya, chair of the city council committee on police, fire and public safety, suggested to invite Rosales in the next session to explain his side.

“It would be best if we get the words direct from the horse’s mouth so we can have the entire picture together before deciding to call for his resignation,” Nacaya said.

Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro tried to call Rosales’ mobile phone to get his side, but the calls went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Abaday called on the people to avoid wearing expensive jewelries in public places, especially in markets.

He also encouraged establishments to put up their own CCTV camera and hire security guards.