Saturday, October 13, 2007 Beef up security as polls near, police tell banks
WITH the elections fast approaching, local police have urged bankers to strengthen their security measures.
Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria said this was raised during their monthly breakfast meeting with the Cebu Bankers Club last Thursday.
He said that as the elections draw near, their personnel will be “maximized” and deployed to secure polling places.
Though he assured that police stations will still be ready to respond to non-election related alarms, he said majority of their personnel will be used for the security arrangements of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.
Assessment
For his part, Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador said the plan to create a team to assess the security measures of banks in Cebu is beginning to take shape.
The Joint Anti-Bank Robbery Committee (Jobroc) is seen as a way to make member banks comply with the committee’s recommendations.
Comendador called it an “honest to goodness” evaluation” by a small group of members composed of representatives from the Philippine National Police, the Cebu Bankers Club and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
As some banks are reluctant to have their banks’ security systems inspected, Comendador said only a small group of persons comprising the Jobroc will be allowed to make inspections.
Meetings
He added that representatives of the rural banks in Cebu were present during the meeting.
Valmoria has pointed out the minimal security measures of rural banks, saying some of them do not have security guards present during weekends.
After the elections, the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day holidays will also follow, leaving rural banks unguarded for a long weekend.
Aside from robberies, they are also vulnerable to burglaries carried out by groups such as the acetylene gang, who break into establishments and use acetylene torches to bore holes in vaults. (MEA)
