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Wednesday, April 02, 2003
City heats up anti-crime drive
By Victor L. Camion
THIS time City Hall means business.
It will enforce security measures that will include the setting up of police substations in strategic areas, the sounding of siren to signal curfew hours for minors, and expanding the coverage of the anti-crime task force in the barangay to stem the upsurge of crimes hitting this City of Gentle People since January this year.
Dumaguete Mayor Agustin Perdices recommended his plan after observing that most cities in the country like Bacolod, Baguio and Cebu have set up police substations in strategic locations for immediate response to calls for help.
Mayor Perdices said the substations to be manned round the clock by a team of police officers would be immediately accessible to the public so their complaints could be addressed fast.
The mayor said he would present his plan to the PNP leadership in the city and the province and consult business groups and other sectors before pushing ahead.
Perdices is optimistic the sectors will support his plan.
Reacting to the mayor's suggestion, Sr. Supt. Drusillo Bolodo described the plan as a good move although it would raise questions on police capability to man the substations since the PNP provincial office does not have enough men to serve the needs of the population.
Bolodo stressed he would support the plan and that he will wait for a recommendation from Supt. Constantino Barot Jr., Dumaguete City police chief, because of the problem on personnel complement.
As this developed, Mayor Perdices and Vice Mayor William Ablong okayed a suggestion from the City Hall Active Response Team (CHART 7) headed by Ranulfo Saldua to sound a siren to remind minors of curfew time.
The scheme will start on Tuesday with the first siren call to be sounded off at 9:45 in the evening to warn minors and at 10:00 in the evening to signal that it is curfew time.
Chart 7 likewise volunteered to help patrol the city streets every night starting April 1.
On the other hand, the City Government welcomed the offer of businessman Roy Cang to install the siren on the rooftop of Bethel Guest House.
Mayor Perdices said this would mean that the sound of the siren would be heard throughout the city including its remote barangays.
Meanwhile, the city's Peace and Order Council plan to expand the monitoring activities of the anti-crime task force in the barangays by soliciting the support of volunteer organizations.
Barot said his men cannot cover all the areas in the city because of lack of men and that as a result bag and cellular phone snatchings continue to happen.
(April 2, 2003 issue)
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