Oppus advices CCPO against alarming the public

CEBU, Philippines - Following reports that another Mindanao robbery group is planning to attack financial institutions in Cebu City and neighboring areas, Police Regional Office (PRO) -7 Deputy Director for Operations Sr. Supt. Louie Oppus said the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) should have been wary against alarming the public.

According to him, the CCPO should be more cautious with their reporting because premature information can “alarm or cause anxiety to people.”

 “If positive ang information, then act on it right away without any fuss but if the information is raw or unverified, we should be careful because it will have a lot of repercussions,” Oppus said.  

Oppus urged his men to be more proactive in their anti-crime efforts by intensifying their monitoring and intelligence operations against suspicious areas and individuals.

Cebu City Police Office Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said he respects Oppus’ opinion on their own way of addressing pressing problems in the city.

“The announcement has elicited different reactions from people, but we respect his (Oppus) opinion. But for our part, we have objectives and missions to accomplish,” Buenafe said.

“We are not here to alarm anybody, but we just feel that we owe it to the people (to tell them) of the real situation,” he added.

Buenafe also said that the public is a vital part of their anti-crime efforts and with the people’s active participation the police can effectively do their work.

“No matter what reactions it will create, we are trying our best to protect Cebu City and we appreciate the help of the people,” he said.

If the public is well informed of the current threats, Buenafe said, this could deter criminals from attacking a community which is well-informed and participative in police activities and operations.  (FREEMAN)