CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has given the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) 10 days to solve the strafing of the houses of the barangay captains of Sudlon 2 and Sinsin, which he described as politically motivated.
In light of what happened, Osmeña said the city should be placed under the control of the Commission on Elections.
“Every indication here is consistent with other circumstances that it is politically motivated. I’m giving Colonel (CCPO Director Royina) Garma 10 days to solve this. If this will not be solved in 10 days, I will accuse the police of being behind this and I will suspend the allowances of all the police assigned in the mountain barangays,” Osmeña warned.
The mayor has offered a P100,000 reward to solve the incidents.
The attacks, he said, were meant to intimidate barangay officials allied to his party, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).
“They’re only targeting BOPK officials, but they will not (target the barangay captain of) Sudlon 1 because he is Team Rama. I’ve always respected President Duterte but never in the 30 years I’ve known him has he used the police for politics. But this is what is happening here in Cebu. The police have been used for politics,” he said.
Osmeña said he was able to talk to President Rodrigo Duterte who told him to forward all the facts to him.
Osmeña described Garma as the “worst” police chief he had ever seen in his 30 years in politics.
No suspects
“The rank and file (police officers) are just following (orders). Garma is untouchable. Not even the chief PNP can touch her,” he said.
Osmeña visited the house of Sudlon 2 Barangay Captain Prescillo Albores on Thursday, April 4 to talk to the latter and to see the damage.
A witness said five men on board three motorcycles stopped in front of Albores’ house and started shooting.
Albores and Sinsin Barangay Captain Aurello Lascuña admitted that the incident worried them, but it would not prevent them from supporting the mayor.
“In my four terms as barangay captain, this is the first time that such incident happened,” Albores said.
It was just past 1 a.m. when residents of Barangays Sudlon 2 and Sinsin were awakened by rapid gunfire.
Police Major Regino Maramag, Pardo Police Station chief, said they had yet to identify the perpetrators.
According to their initial investigation, both officials have no enemies in their barangays.
Garma said they were eying two motives for the incidents, politics or personal. She ordered her personnel to check if there were security cameras in both crime scenes.
She will also send the bullets and shells recovered from both scenes to the crime laboratory to be checked.
She said now was not the time to be playing the blame game, referring to Osmeña’s allegations.
“So it’s our fault if a strafing happens? The best thing to do is to encourage the barangay captains to cooperate with the police. Tell us who their enemies are so we can have a lead in our investigation,” Garma said in Tagalog.
Meanwhile, the CCPO director said she was not worried about the mayor’s threat to withdraw the City’s support from her office.
Garma also belied Osmeña’s statement calling her the “worst” city police director.
“Okay. That’s his judgment. Was it because I did not submit to him? I will only follow legal orders and implement what is on the rules. I am serving the people of Cebu and not a specific group. Just the people of Cebu,” she added. (With AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, PJB)