POLICE personnel will not be allowed to return to the Daanbantayan Police Station after engineers declared the structure unsafe.
The station sustained significant damage from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu on the night of Sept. 30, 2025.
Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Chief Col. Abubakar Mangelen Jr. said police operations will continue at a temporary station that will be set up within the compound.
Police Regional Office chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan is already looking for a supplier to build the temporary police station.
While Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro also pledged to provide assistance to the Daanbantayan police.
Once the Philippine National Police (PNP) releases the budget for a new structure, the old police station building will be demolished and reconstructed.
Other areas
Inspections of police stations in northern Cebu showed that only the Daanbantayan Police Station sustained severe damage.
Stations in Bogo City, Tabogon, Borbon, Tabuelan, San Remigio, Medellin, and Bantayan Island were declared safe and now remain occupied by police.
However, Mangelen said engineering works are being ongoing in San Remigio and Bogo to ensure the safety of the stations after some cracks were observed in the concrete structure.
Meanwhile, police assigned in earthquake-stricken areas will undergo psychological debriefing after it was found that some of them were traumatized by the calamity.
The PNP Regional Health Service 7, through its psychological team, will conduct debriefing to check on the mental health of their fellow police officers.
“They identified some of the members of the responding elements (need) to be given a couple of hours or a day break just to have them recover from this stress and the stressful activities that they have been part of. So that’s one thing that directly influences the overall response of the PNP contingent on the 6.9 earthquake,” Mangelen said.
In some cases, new personnel from the Regional Police Headquarters and the Provincial Headquarters will be deployed to replace those still psychologically affected by the tremor. / AYB