AFTER ending his support for the city’s police, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced he will give additional assistance and incentives to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Central Visayas Region.
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said the City Government will give all agents of PDEA allowances.
The mayor’s move came after the installation of PDEA-Central Visayas Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz, a Cebuano.
“They will all get (their allowances from the City) because they gave us a Cebuano commander,” Osmeña said.
Unlike the police and other law enforcers, PDEA agents were not part of those who were granted allowances by the City Government in the past.
Asked if how much he will give to each agent, Osmeña said they will get the same amount that the police officers under Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) were getting. But he added that the PDEA officers will get more.
Under the budget for 2016, those with ranks from Police Officer 1 (PO1) to Senior Police Officer 4 (SPO4) assigned in all police stations and units under the CCPO are supposed to receive P4,000 a month as an allowance.
City director
Police officers with the ranks of inspector, senior inspector and chief inspector get P6,000 monthly.
The city director used to get P8,000, while his two assistant city directors received P7,000 monthly each.
However, after recent movements in the local police, Osmeña said the City will no longer provide allowances to the police officers under CCPO, including Senior Supt. Joel Doria, its new director.
Aside from the granting of allowances to PDEA officers, Osmeña said the agency will also receive vehicles from the City.
Ronald Malacora of the General Services Office (GSO) said they will initially assign two vehicles to PDEA.
Osmeña said the office has his full support for having a Cebuano leader and will get a “royal treatment” from him.
Cebu native
He said “there’s hope” in the organization, considering that its leadership is a native of Cebu.
The mayor also announced that he will continue supporting the NBI by retaining the allowances they’re getting and by assigning additional vehicles to them.
Prior to Osmeña’s assumption of office as mayor, Councilor Margarita Osmeña, acting as mayor, ordered the return of all city-owned vehicles assigned to the barangays for inventory.
Some of the cars were returned to the barangays who requested for them while some remained at the GSO while waiting for the mayor to assign it to other offices and units.
Aside from PDEA 7 and NBI, Osmeña also announced that the Cebu City Transportation Office will be given vehicles.