WHY is the Cebu City Government changing the criteria in the granting of allowances to police officers of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO)? The question has not been answered adequately by the City’s Peace and Order Program (POP) head during a budget hearing last Nov. 5, thus the surfacing of conspiracy theories. Like, does this signify that Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s rift with police officials isn’t over yet?
If the POP proposal is approved, only police officers assigned with the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will get monthly allowances from the Cebu City Government.
Under the present setup, the city police director gets P8,000 monthly allowance from the City, the police station commanders get P6,000 each and police non-commissioned officers get P2,500. Among those who would no longer get their monthly allowance would be the CCPO director herself, Royina Garma, who is not from Cebu City and definitely is not a voter here.
“If they think that is fair, then go. Wala akong pakialam magbigay sila or hindi. Okay lang. May sweldo naman kami. I don’t care whether they will give or they will totally remove it. Kahit anong gawin nila, we don’t care. We will still work, kaya’t okay lang,” Garma told SunStar Cebu reporter Razel Cuizon.
Garma did sound defiant, but the others who are affected may not be. Which should remind us of one of the reasons why the Cebu City Government conceived the act of giving of allowances to CCPO personnel, which is to boost their morale. There is surely nothing morale-boosting in an act that is selective.
Also, that the move follows the flaring up of the conflict between Osmeña on one side and Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Chief Debold Sinas and Garma on the other side over the recent series of killings here makes it look sinister. And it gives a bad impression on the system of allowance-giving adopted by the City.
Critics have long noted that the giving by a local government unit (LGU) of allowances to, say, the police, prosecutors and judges would affect the manner the beneficiaries do their jobs when these affect the officials of the said LGUs. The worry is that the making of decisions by the police, prosecutors and judges could be influenced by the officials who helped provide those allowances.