Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Policemen assigned to Mindanao get 2 weeks off for doing job well
THE fear of facing threatening situations was not what bothered the 101 policemen from the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) 7 when they were sent to Mindanao.
It was adjusting to life in an unfamiliar place.
For being on their best behavior and performing their duties well, 101 police officers who arrived from Mindanao yesterday were given an early Christmas present: two weeks off.
Aside from that, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos said they will be allowed to choose where they want to be assigned.
A marching band, yellow ribbons, welcome streamers and proud family members greeted the policemen early yesterday morning as they arrived at Pier 4 from Cagayan de Oro.
That was after spending three months and 13 days in South and North Cotabato provinces.
Each officer was awarded a heroism medal while 10 officers responsible for the arrest of suspected robbers in Koronadal City were given another set of heroism medals.
The officers, who were detailed at the Palian Bridge detachment in Barangay Saravia, Koronadal City, acted on reports from the local police station about a robbery of a fastfood outlet last Oct. 10.
At a checkpoint, they were able to intercept a van with four persons whose features matched the descriptions of the robbers of the fastfood outlet.
Insp. Jul Mohammad Jamiri, who led the operation in Koronadal City, said his men were “snappy” enough to stop the men from escaping by grabbing the key of the van from the ignition and surrounding them.
They later recovered more than P90,000 cash and pieces of evidence linking them to the crime.
Roderos said the work of the RMG 7 officers was hailed by local authorities that they requested an extension of their tour of duty there. However, Roderos said he had to decline because the officers were also needed in Central Visayas.
Jamiri said he felt the loneliness his men felt being away from their families.
A native of Tagum, Davao del Norte, the 22-year-old Jamiri said he had to encourage them and remind them that being deployed to other parts of the country was part of the job of a policeman.
Jamiri, who graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy this year, already has his eyes set on spending three years in the Visayas, three years in Luzon and
the remaining years in the service in Mindanao.
Many thought they would be spending Christmas in Mindanao.
Marjorie Acevron, wife of PO1 Mer Acevron, said her two-year-old son Lawrence kept looking for his papa and whenever he saw officers dressed in fatigues, he would call out to them, mistaking them for his father.
The RMG policemen were not the only awardees in yesterday’s ceremony.
A medal was presented to SPO1 Frederick Larrobis of the Talisay City Police Station for responding to a snatching incident in Barangay Lipata, Minglanilla last Wednesday.
A policeman who also won second place in an international shooting competition also received a medal and plaque of recognition.
SPO1 Christopher Panes won in the revolver division during the 15th World Shoot Handgun Competition of the International Practical Shooting Confederation held in Bali, Indonesia from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2. (MEA)
