Labella revives PCAC

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has allowed Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella to “run” all meetings of the newly-revived Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC).

In his press conference yesterday, Osmeña said he has seen that Labella had shown interest in reconvening the PCAC.

“I don’t appoint him as chairman. He can run the PCAC. But that does not make him a chairman. I’m still the chairman,” Osmeña told reporters.

Osmeña said he will no longer issue a written order allowing Labella to lead the PCAC for as long as the vice mayor will “respect” his verbal instructions.

Yesterday, Labella initiated a “preparatory meeting” of PCAC which was attended by representatives of Department of the Interior and Local Government, Cebu City Police Office, National Police Commission-7, Office of the City Prosecutor, Cebu City Transportation Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development-7, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7, Cebu City Jail, Bureau of Fire Protection, and CCPO Traffic Patrol Group.

City Councilor David Tumulak, for his part, said PCAC is a duplication of the existing Peace and Order Council (POC) headed by former City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr.

“But for me, on my part as chairman on public order and safety, regardless of POC or PCAC, as long as it will benefit for the safety and security for the city residents, I’m on it,” Tumulak said, adding that POC’s composition is the same as the PCAC’s.

Labella said Osmeña is the chairman of PCAC under City Ordinance 2389, the ordinance creating the PCAC.

Labella said yesterday’s meeting was in compliance with the verbal statement of the mayor in one of his press conferences asking Labella to give the names of officials who could form part of the defunct PCAC.

PCAC was one of the special bodies that the mayor evaluated when he assumed office last year.

“It was kind of an informal gathering to be able to make the proper report and recommendation to the mayor in compliance with his verbal statement to give him the names of officials who could form part,” Labella said.

Under the ordinance, the vice mayor has no function in the council.

He said the PCAC can recommend to the mayor how to address issues like jail congestion, health issues of the jail personnel and inmates, among others.

“There are institutions like PLEB (people’s law enforcement board) which need the recommendation of PCAC for the composition (of the board),” he said.

Labella said PLEB is like an adjudicatory body which has a quasi-judicial function that would determine the culpability of certain police officers that are facing administrative charges.

In a May-24 letter, Labella reiterated his request to formally convene the PCAC and to appoint the latter’s representative as the chairman of the council.

During yesterday’s meeting, City Jail Warden Arnel Peralta said there are 4,375 inmates that are currently housed inside the facility.

Labella said the city should assist the jail management in decongesting the facility since it was designed for 600 detainees only. (FREEMAN)