|
Friday, January 28, 2005
Mayor threatens to cut allowance of Fuente cops
The Fuente police has until today to clear their area of commercial sex workers and erring videoke machine operators.
Failure to do so will cost them their P1,000 monthly allowance from the Cebu City Government.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña admitted there are no longer complaints against violators of the ordinance regulating the operation of video-karaoke machines, but he said the inefficiency of the Fuente police still irked him.
He called the police station “substandard” because it has yet to clear Juana Osmeña St. of sex workers even after he warned them about it.
Warning
“The Fuente police is on the verge of being fined, the entire station. I’m sending a very loud warning to them that their allowances will be suspended for six months if I hear another complaint about videoke machines and see hookers in their area,” he warned.
Osmeña yesterday said he will give only 24 hours and if he hears another complaint, the police will lose their allowance.
“Basically, if I just see one more incident, that’s it. And if they think I don’t mean business, just ask the butchers in Lorega,” he added.
Since he can’t relieve the policemen, the mayor said, he will request the transfer of Fuente Police Chief Noel Gillamac to Basilan if the problem is not addressed.
But Gillamac said they already apprehended the sex workers and completely cleared the area at one point.
Double efforts
In a phone interview yesterday, Gillamac assured the mayor that they will double their efforts just to satisfy him.
Much as he wants to run after suspected robbers, sex workers, violators of city ordinances and other criminal elements, they don’t have enough personnel.
The nightly activities at the Fuente Osmeña park during the holidays and the Sinulog festival had them busy until dawn every day, Gillamac said.
“Despite our limited manpower, we’re doing our best to get rid of the sex workers and if the mayor is still not satisfied, we will double our efforts. We’d like to assure him we are working on this,” he told Sun.Star.
As for the video-karaoke machines in front of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Gillamac said they already reprimanded the operators and continuously remind them to comply with the ordinance. (LCR)
(January 28, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
