Doria admits: Cops’ arsenal outdated

CEBU, Philippines - The local police’s arsenal and other equipment are seemingly outdated, so admits a ranking police official.

Cebu City Police Office Director Joel Doria inspected personnel from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the Cebu City Public Safety Battalion to check on dilapidated items that need replacement from the police headquarters.

During the assessment, Doria pointed out that most equipment used by SWAT are outdated compared to the ones used by Special Armed Forces group from the national headquarters.

 “As compared kasi ng equipment na gamit ng SAF ay medyo mapapag-iwanan talaga tayo,” Doria said.

With the unverified reports of planned terror attacks lurking in the metro, the police are doing an inventory to keep their arsenal and other equipment up to date.

He added that the bullets distributed to the policemen should match with their firearms to prevent the guns from getting damaged easily.

“Ang problema kasi natin, kailangan ima-match yung bullet sa mga firearms nila.  Kung hindi natin titingnan yun, may tendency kasi na masira yung barrel, magkakaroon ng damage,” Doria said.

He said they will be working on the necessary paperwork to request for additional firearms and other equipment for safety and security measures, most especially in tactical bomb-scare scenarios.

Doria added that acquiring complete gear for his men can greatly boost the willingness to fight, knowing that their personal safety is also being considered by the battalion commander.

Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 Director Noli Taliño said the procurement for special equipment is a continuous process, and whenever new equipment are delivered, he assured it will be distributed immediately.

Taliño said the help coming from the local government unit has lessen their problems when it comes to logistical funding.

He iterated to the police director in the province and the city to continue to put up measures and fortify areas of responsibility as preventive measure against possible terrorist attacks, especially after two documents allegedly coming from PNP about a scheduled bomb attack targeting converging points surfaced in social media.

Councilor David Tumulak, City Council’s chairman of public order and safety committee, asked at least 123 gasoline station owners and fuel companies to strictly implement the suggested security measures so that possible installation of bombs would be prevented.

The discussion focused on the unverified reports that fuel tankers and LPG trucks will be hijacked and will be used a “vehicle bombs.”

Among the measures agreed include that all drivers and truck loaders of fuel tankers must have the hotline numbers of the Cebu City Central Command in order to immediately report anything suspicious that they would notice as they transport the fuel; all gasoline stations must have security guards; and should coordinate with barangay tanods and police officers.

Tumulak also asked the owners to submit their usual security measures for them to have a proper coordination with the police officers and for the fuel distributors to submit their daily scheduled deliveries so that the police can monitor them.

“Wa ta moingon nga tinood to (unverified reports) but the Philippine National Police should also empower our residents to be cautious and vigilant at all times,” he said.

Tumulak was grateful that majority of the fuel establishment owners and administrators joined the discussion.

In a separate interview, Osmeña admitted that he also gave precautionary measures during that meeting, but he declined to divulge it to the press.

He explained he does not want the terrorists to know what are the security measures the city is implementing to thwart any terrorist attacks.

In Talisay City, Mayor Eduardo Gullas together with a representative from Military Intelligence Group (MIG) met with all the city's barangay captains regarding the alleged planned terrorist attack.

Fortunately, Gullas disclosed that there are no reported threats in Talisay.

Although there are Muslim communities in the city, he assured that the residents in these communities are good people and are very cooperative with the city.

For his part, Association of Barangay Council Head Raul Cabañero said they were glad during the briefing with MIG that Talisay is out of risk but added that they should not be complacent.

He said that they also activated their barangay intelligence network (BIN) in all 22 barangays in the city that will closely monitor possible terrorist threats.

"Atong gi-activate ang BIN ug nagpuno sad mi og mga tawo among kasaligan sa information," he said.

He added that barangay captains must be quick to validate information once they receive rumors of the presence of any terrorist group.

"First line defense sa kapitan. Para dili makasulod (ang) terorista kung naa sighted person, adto sa barangay kapitan to check and validate," he said. —Mae Clydyl L. Avila, Iris Mariani B. Algabre, Odessa O. Leyson (FREEMAN)