Machete taps parking aides vs. crime

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  - Inspector Shevert Alvin Machete, chief of the Ormoc Police Station 1, made an unprecedented move in the fight against criminality by tapping the help of parking aides spread in strategic areas around the city.

He said the police, due to the increasing economic activity in this city, have been anticipating an increase in crimes, and something must be done to offset the disparity in the ideal number of police officers to the population.

In doing so, Machete gathered 50 registered members of a group of parking aides in the city to a seminar on how to assist the law enforcers in preventing crime incidents as well as in solving these.

The aides were divided into batches, the first 18 of whom, headed by the group's president Jun Reno Chumacera, had already attended the one-day seminar on January 13 at the police station.

Machete did not divulge the exact tasks of the aides for security reasons, but he made an assurance: "We implore the assistance of the parking aides because they are always in the streets, but we will not put them in a situation that may endanger their lives."

He further told The Freeman, in an exclusive interview, that the "aides will be provided with T-shirts and will be required to be neatly dressed to gain the trust of their clients that would in turn raise their P100 to P200 daily earnings."

The group of parking aides of this city was already organized under the city's Social Welfare and Development Office since last year. (FREEMAN)