THE office of the Cebu City Police Station 5 started its transfer to the Unit 2 interim building of the Carbon Public Market on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022.
The old police station building has to be demolished to give way for the ongoing redevelopment of the market.
Maj. Kenneth Albotra, chief of Cebu City Police Station 5, said the move to Unit 2 is only temporary as those behind the redevelopment of the Carbon Public Market will make a new police station at the old site.
But while police personnel will be transferred to Unit 2, their 44 detainees who are currently facing major cases will be moved to the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) headquarters in Camp Sotero Cabahug on Gorordo Avenue.
Albotra added that detainees who are facing cases for petty crimes will be placed on a Kaoshiung bus provided by the Cebu City Government that will serve as a temporary detention area.
The police chief said they are still looking for a secure place that can accommodate the stationary bus.
Albotra added that since their temporary station is located at the Unit 2’s third floor, he plans to ask permission from the developer to install a separate office for their desk officer at the ground floor so that people, especially senior citizens, will no longer need to go up to their main office to file their complaints.
Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, CCPO director, said their old station situated at the Carbon Public Market had to be abandoned due to its dilapidated state.
He thanked the Megawide Construction Corporation, the parent company of Cebu2World Development Incorporated (C2W) -- developer of Carbon Market modernization program, for giving his personnel a comfortable office space at Unit 2.
Dalogdog added that they also could not construct a new building unless the City Government will donate a lot for them.
Albotra, meanwhile, said that police operations, such as their campaign against illegal drugs and other forms of criminality, will continue despite the transfer.
He said his men who are assigned on beat patrol will continue to be visible in the area to ensure order and safety of the market goers. (AYB / TPT)