NO doubt whatever Senior Supt. Royina Garma has been doing at the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) is working. Well, for one thing, the crime volume has dropped this year.
Maybe it has something to do with patrol cars parked at strategic corners around the city with their blinkers on that keep the criminals away. At least, the smart ones, that is.
It’s also good to know that she has been cleaning house since she assumed the top post at the CCPO. Although I have to draw the line at cops reading newspapers inside police stations.
Come on. Cut them some slack, Ma’am Garma. They probably just want to read about the latest news on this administration’s war against illegal drugs. Or they’re reading my column. (Hey, it can happen.)
As for the other stuff, like not wearing the right uniform, the playing of games on their cellular phones or the sleeping on the job, well, the police organization does have to maintain certain standards.
I understand the Philippine National Police, being in the forefront in this campaign to rid the streets of illegal drugs, has an image to uphold. And to maintain that moral ascendancy, its men and women must be better than the people they have sworn to protect and serve.
But hey, I’m glad that Garma is serious in instilling discipline in the workplace, and that she has the backing of Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Debold Sinas. Sinas, when he found out about Garma’s directives, ordered all city and provincial offices in Central Visayas to follow her lead.
I mean, isn’t it nice to see our officials acting like adults for once? I have to take my hat off to Sinas. Lesser men would ignore or belittle good ideas that don’t come from them, but not him.
Anyway, I thought it appropriate to write about our men and women in blue in light of what happened in Barangay Lawaan 3, Talisay City on Friday afternoon, Nov. 23.
To those who still don’t know, shame on you, but three men—Arnel Hernani, also known as Alvin; Ramonito Maneja, also known as Duterte; and a certain Joseph—were killed in a shootout with police in San Jose Village eight and a half hours after one of them allegedly shot PO1 Jaylord Joseph Taping who, along with his team, were conducting surveillance in Sitio Mananga 2, Barangay Tabunok.
Critics of this administration automatically cried foul. That it was a “rubout.”
Let’s put it this way, at least Taping is alive to tell his tale, to positively identify Hernani as his shooter, who, it turned out, was a known hired gun and troublemaker along with Maneja and Joseph.
The fact that concerned citizens and barangay officials didn’t hesitate to inform the police about the three men’s whereabouts should tell you something about their characters. In other words, there was no love lost between the citizens of Barangay Lawaan 3 and the three suspects linked to Taping’s shooting.
Trust me, I will always choose our police officers over suspected criminals. With that said, I expect Sinas to award the operatives involved in the Talisay operation.