Friday, August 08, 2008 Cops are 'squatters' By Annabelle L. Ricalde
EIGHT of the 10 police stations in Cagayan de Oro do not own the building and land they have been occupying for the past years.
Hounded by low budget constraints, the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office are relying on the "kindness" of barangay officials for the buildings where they can set up their police stations, said Acting City Police Director Isagane Genabe Jr.
"Pinagamit lang sa amin ng barangay o di kaya binigyan kami nang kaunting space sa Cogon market (The barangays allow us to used their facilities or a small space in Cogon which we used to house the Cogon police station), Genabe said.
He added: "Para na ring kaming squatters (We are no different from the squatters)."
Genabe said of the 10 police stations servicing Cagayan de Oro, they can only call on the police stations in Barangay Cugman and Lumbia as "their own.
The rest are either located inside barangay halls where kind barangay officials allowed them to use a portion of its premises, Genabe said.
The police stations in Cogon and Carmen are located in the public markets, courtesy of the Cagayan de Oro local government.
Even Maharlika, the headquarters of the city police force in Barangay Carmen, is donated by the Roa family years ago.
This appalling state of the city police was forced out in the open when Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Jesus Verzosa came to visit Cagayan de Oro last month.
But Verzosa said P5 billion allocation to buy land and construct police stations are already on the pipeline.
Genabe said Police station no. 1 will soon have its own land and building at the old public cemetery along Hayes Street.
He said he also hope city officials can help the police persuade landowners to donate or sell at a low price their lands so they could construct police stations.
