BEFORE they can rent and move into a boarding house, an apartment or a house, transients in Cebu City should first secure clearance from the barangay.
At least that’s what the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) wants and has proposed the matter to the City Council through Councilor Philip Zafra, chairman of the City Council committee on peace and order.
“If they cannot provide records, they shouldn’t be allowed to rent or move in,” Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for administration of the CCPO, said in Cebuano.
Parilla said this will help not only the police but also the barangays in monitoring newcomers.
“That way, all residents, including students and workers, can be accounted for and we will also know how many actually reside in a particular barangay,” he said in Cebuano.
He said some barangays have already passed an ordinance that requires transients to secure a barangay clearance.
While waiting for the City Council to pass a similar ordinance, Parilla said the CCPO will direct the chief of the city’s 13 police stations to start coordinating with barangays in their respective jurisdiction.
“That way there will be monitoring, especially now that we have police personnel who accompany barangay tanods during patrols,” he said in Cebuano.
Parilla pointed out that when police arrested three suspects inside a subdivision in Barangay Bacayan and seized millions worth of shabu, neighbors were surprised and shocked, including the barangay councilor who was present during the anti-illegal drugs operation.
Parilla said the barangay clearance requirement will limit the movement of persons involved in the illegal drug business.
It will be more difficult for them to move from one barangay to the next to avoid authorities, he said.
SunStar Cebu sought the opinion of Commission on Human Rights 7 Director Arvin Odron on the proposed requirement of a barangay clearance, but he begged off from commenting until his office can prepare a statement on the matter. (JKV, BBT, AYB)