Rama asks police to focus on robberies

CEBU, Philippines - Although Mayor Michael Rama praised the Cebu City policemen for their good performance in reducing the crime volume in the past months, he is ordering the police to intensify monitoring of the activities of robbers.

City Hall public information officer Florito “Carlo” Dugaduga said Rama lauded Cebu City Police Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe for the decrease in the city’s crime volume by 31 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Superintendent Audie Villacin, head of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management (RIDM) of the Police Regional Office-7, said Cebu City’s index cases had gone down from 3,170 during the same period in 2010 to only 2,211 this year.

Index crimes are incidents against persons and properties like murder, homicide, rape, robberies, theft and snatchings. With 2,211 index cases during the past 120 days, it means that there was an average of 18 cases in the city everyday.

Rama encourages the police to reduce the crime volume by 50 percent. He also ordered his security consultant, Romeo Cordova, to facilitate the release of whatever the police need in their operations such as vehicles and communication gadgets.

The City had bought 44 motorcycles for the members of the soon to be created Motorcycle Response Unit (MRU) which will be composed of Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) personnel.

In a separate development, the barangay captain of Brgy. Buot Taop, Cebu City asked authorities to reconsider the move to pull out the police detachment from their place.

Visiting Cebu City Hall last Wednesday afternoon to speak with Mayor Michael Rama about the matter, Brgy. Captain Daya Callino pointed out that they were not informed about the move to take out the police detachment in their barangay, which is a remote area.

They just recently learned about the police’s decision to do away with police detachments and just form a group or cluster, which will stay in a particular barangay only for one month.

She is apprehensive that the police, because of the “rotation scheme” being implemented for all barangays, might not be able to respond immediately to incidents in her area.

The barangay chief cited that her barangay is difficult to access because of their river, which sometimes overflow.

“Unyag magbaha nya naay alarma mahitabo? Unsaon man nila pagtabok? Ok ra unta og kon atong mga tanod naay armas, lahi baya jud ng pulis” Callino added.

But Cebu City Police Director Senior Supt. Ramon Melvin Buenafe said he takes full responsibility over the peace and order situation in Buot Taop.

Anyway, he added, he previously received a letter from Callino complaining against the policemen assigned in her barangay whom she said were never around. (FREEMAN)