THE City Government will allocate a total of P3.5 million to support the Cagayan de Oro Police Office's (Cocpo) plan to create a K9 platoon in a bid to intensify security measures in the borders of Cagayan de Oro City.
City Councilor Romeo Calizo, chairperson of the committee on police, fire, and public safety said the city has agreed to procure 7 trained dogs and initial support for their food, vitamins, and medicine.
Each dog, according to Calizo, costs P450,000.
However, Calizo said "other components of the platoon" should be shouldered by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
"When you say platoon, what is the size of it? Of course you need handlers, and back-up handlers. Their proposal should be concise, concrete, and clear, so we asked them to correct some points in the proposed resolution, but it is already approved in principle," Calizo said.
In a letter addressed to the City Mayor, Cocpo chief Senior Superintendent Nelson Aganon, said the plan aims to augment the number of K9 handlers and K9 dogs at border patrol bases as well as to secure public transport terminals, public markets, churches, and other places of convergence in the city.
The planned institutionalization was based on the security assessment of the recent bombing incidents Mindanao and the city's vulnerability to these terror attacks.