OFFICIALS of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) have welcomed the appointment of retired Philippine National Police (PNP) director Debold Sinas as an adviser for the city’s peace and order council.
Mayor Michael Rama introduced Sinas during the city’s flag-raising ceremony at City Hall on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, CCPO spokesperson, said Sinas’ presence will greatly help in police operations especially in enforcing order in the city.
“I believe his presence in the Cebu City Hall will provide a very good backdrop and foundation to whatever police initiatives that may be done in order to improve peace and order here in Cebu City,” Macatangay said.
Social media reactions
But some netizens, however, expressed apprehension through the social media that Rama’s appointment of Sinas might bring back killings in the city.
The CCPO, however, embraced Sinas’ appointment as it believes that Sinas’ qualifications, especially on how he had helped improved peace and order in the entire region as director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7), could bolster its capability.
Sinas was the PRO 7 chief from June 2018 to October 2019.
For more than a year, Sinas have implemented several programs aimed to lessen criminality in the region including a one-day Simultaneous Anti-Criminality and Law Enforcement Operation involving all police units across the region.
The program also resulted in the arrest of several drug personalities and criminals; others got killed for allegedly resisting arrest.
Only criminals fear Sinas
Macatangay explained that only those criminals and those involved in the illegal activities would be afraid of Sinas because he is known to be efficient in law enforcement.
“So if you are law abiding citizen, you respect the law, you respect the authorities, I don’t think there’s a need for you to fear anyone at all and more so our dear General Debold M. Sinas,” Macatangay said.
Macatangay admitted that Sinas is still active in giving ideas to the city’s police force, especially on the campaign against illegal drugs and criminality.
Among the controversial operation carried out by Sinas was “Oplan Sauron,” in which several most wanted persons and alleged members of the New People’s Army in Negros Oriental were killed for allegedly resisting the police.