Saturday, October 14, 2006 Tear gas instead of guns for Citom; City has no money to buy guns: mayor
IT WILL have to be tear gas for now.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the City has no money to buy guns so it may instead have to issue tear gas canisters to the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).
“I’m still open to providing them with firearms as long as they’re properly trained....(But) we can’t allocate anything for the purchase of firearms at this time,” he said.
He said a tear gas is sufficient to immobilize potential attackers in 80 to 90 percent of all situations.
And it offers an advantage since it could be used from a distance, unlike stun guns that, aside from being expensive, have to be used at an arm’s length to be effective.
Safe
He added that tear gas is generally safe to civilians. Since it can cause temporary blindness for 20 minutes, it is enough to give enforcers time to call for back up.
City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem, in an earlier interview, said that carrying a gun requires training and proper indoctrination on safety guidelines.
Citom Executive Officer Arnel Tancinco had also said that not all of the 280 traffic enforcers are qualified to carry guns.
And knowing that there are abusive Citom personnel even though they are unarmed, the enforcers should go through a thorough process of training and evaluation, Jakosalem said.
Those who will not pass will be given non-lethal weapons, like tear gas, as another way of protecting them.
Concern for the safety of traffic personnel was raised recently after traffic enforcer Danilo dela Peña was stabbed in the armpit and right side of the body allegedly by mini-bus driver Wenelito Tablada Esconas last Oct. 6.
Esconas allegedly got angry after dela Peña issued him a citation for picking up passengers in a no-stopping area outside a local university on N. Bacalso Ave.
The Citom board already agreed to the arming of its traffic enforcers.
Not one member objected when the body discussed last Wednesday the guidelines needed to ensure that only those qualified will get guns. (RHM)
