PRIVATE citizens, government employees, and even police officers will not be spared from arrest if found smoking and littering inside or within prohibited areas.
Baguio City Police Director Roberto Soriano personally caught and reprimanded one of his men inside the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) smoking right inside a no smoking zone.
Soriano and the entire police force is now leading by example and have started policing their ranks to show to the community they are serious and will be strictly implementing the anti-littering and anti-smoking ordinances in support to the local officials' call for a cleaner and greener Baguio.
The anti-littering and smoking campaign is the first step in bringing back the city as the Cleanest and Greenest City in the country.
During the 15th Police Community Relations (PCR) Month celebrations kick-off activity held at the Baguio Convention Center July 6, National Police Commission (Napolcom)-Cordillera Director Pedro Magan-non called on the ranks to act as true public servants whose job is not limited to law enforcement and peace keeping but to be involved in socio-economic concerns and to integrate themselves with the community they are mandated to protect.
Domogan, who graced the occasion, reinforced the Napolcom theme, "Matatag Na Pagkakaisa ng Pam-bansang Pulisya at Mamamayan Tungo sa Kapayapaan at Kaun-laran."
He said, "let us all help one another deter crime and immediately report criminal elements or incidents before it is too late."
He also called on police officers to be role models in the community to earn back the respect of the citizenry.
The event was participated in by Law Enforcement Agencies spearheaded by the Napolcom, city police, drug agency, PNP-Highway Patrol Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Bureau of Fire Protection, Call 117 and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Other groups to include barangay officials and criminology students from the University of the Cordilleras (UC), University of Baguio (UB) and Baguio Central University (BCU) were also present and participated in the parade from Session Road to Melvin Jones grandstand at Burnham Park.
After the parade, the groups were assigned to different areas of the city during a cleanup drive. The Baguio's Finest cleaned the whole stretch of Session and Harrison roads while the rest were assigned at Burnham Park area.
Meanwhile, a city-wide cleanup drive is being undertaken through the "Food For Work" program.
The program was initiated last year by The World Food Program (WFP) and the City Social Welfare and Development Office headed by Betty Fangsan in the aftermath of Typhoon Pepeng to help victims and their affected families earn money after the devastation of the storm.
The WFP's last round of rice donation was delivered to the city's 128 barangays last week (June 30).
Shooting two birds in one stone, the "Food for Work" program provided jobs to the barangay indigents by receiving also 10 kilos of rice for a day's work.
Through this program, the indigents will helped declog drainage canals, clear debris within flood prone areas to prevent soil erosion.
The spread of mosquito breeding grounds carrying the deadly dengue fever will also be eliminated and water-borne diseases will also be prevented this rainy season, ABC president and Councilor Joel Alangsab said. (Bong Cayabyab)