ASEAN SUMMIT: PNP top brass officials inspect security measures

The third highest-ranking official of the Philippine National Police visited Cebu yesterday to inspect the security preparations for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this December.

Police Deputy Director for Operations Isidro Lapeña first visited the Lapu-Lapu City Police Station where he addressed around 700 Field Training Personnel deployed in the city.

From there he proceeded to the Mandaue City Police Office where he inspected the FTPs assigned there. Mandaue City is where the summit will take place. Seventeen heads of state are expected to attend the summit as well as hundreds of diplomats.

Lapeña told reporters that FTPs will be issued with firearms soon and more vehicles for the police will arrive in a few days.

Aside from this the Mandaue City government announced that FTPs assigned to the city will be given a P500 allowance per month, Cebu City has reportedly pledged a P1,000 monthly allowance to the FTPs assigned there.

The Police Regional Office-7 led by C/Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr. also inspected various units and places yesterday and found only one FTP guarding the North Bus Terminal.

The FTP was left alone by his supervisor and companions with no backup as they were eating at a nearby eatery.

"'Yung iba daw kumakain, hindi naman dapat ganoon eh, dapat sana buddy-buddy system," Alarcio said.

Alarcio said that some FTPs were not properly deployed; some of them were seen in sparsely populated areas instead of crime-prone areas.

He said that the lack of firearms is not an issue here, it is about the proper deployment of the troops in the field with good supervision from the local policemen.

There are now about 1,400 FTPs in Metro Cebu but many of these do not have their own guns and the lack of patrol vehicles limits their ability to prevent or respond to crimes. - Edwin Ian Melecio with Norvie Misa/BRP