For poor performance, revamp eyed at city police

CEBU, Philippines - After just a month as the head of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), director Noli Romana is already planning a revamp among station chiefs due to poor performance in terms of police visibility and curbing the drug problem.

"I'm not satisfied with the turn out of compliance ng mga station chiefs, so we'll have to institute reforms talaga," he said.

Three to four station chiefs are being considered for the revamp because they "generally failed in performance," Romana said.

One of the reasons for the planned revamp is the lack of police visibility in some areas in the city, the city police chief said. This observation was shared by Police Regional Office 7 director Danilo Contantino, who was a guest in yesterday's command conference at the CCPO.

The CCPO director explained that through the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS), he can monitor if police officers and station chiefs are reporting to their post or not. Through PIPS, Romana said the duty details of a police officer can be validated. He would know where the policeman is at a specific time, and even his contact number. The monitoring is definite, he said.

"In fact, gabi-gabi na rin akon nagpa-patrol, umiikot din. Nakikita ko rin which areas need more supervision," he pointed out.

In matters concerning the drug problem in the city, the police chief said that the 11 police stations under CCPO earlier submitted a list of target drug personalities in their respective jurisdictions. However, some of the station chiefs failed to make arrests and clear their area of illegal drugs.

"They now these targets so they should be accountable and responsible to neutralize them. They failed in overall performance," the CCPO director said.

To start the ball rolling when it comes to changes at the CCPO, Romana ordered the reassignment of the chief of the Tourist Police Unit (TPU), Senior Insp. Rosefelia Santolorin. Senior Insp. Florendo Fajardo from the Cebu Provincial Police Office took over as TPU chief starting yesterday.

The CPCO director said the reshuffling of the station chiefs will be done next week as he has yet to get the recommendations from his immediate staff.

Romana said that station chiefs should not lag behind in their jobs because they are supposedly the frontliners.

"Mataas kasi ang standards set for CCPO being the show window of the region, so we have to keep up with the standards, and besides, it's the right thing to do," he emphasized.

Just yesterday, two robbers held up attendants of a Korean-owned shoe warehouse outside Pier 4 and took off with P25,000 and a cellular phone worth P10,000.

The robbers, who rode in tandem on a green motorcycle, fled toward Mandaue City.

During the incident, two female employees, Emilyn Etor, 23, and her elder sister Recmie, were inside the warehouse, while a third employee, Rey Andar, 20, was inside the comfort room. Emilyn said the two robbers posed as customers and pretended to buy two sacks of used shoes. The two men then robbed the employees and fled with the cash, including Emilyn's cellular phone.

On illegal gambling and illegal drugs, Romana said the CCPO will sustain the series of operations his men have conducted.

He cited a recent operation that led to the confiscation of 12 video karera machines and the buy-bust operation in Barangay Ermita last Monday that led to the arrest of 27-year-old Roxan Quirante, who sold P30,000 worth of shabu to a poseur-buyer.

Romana used to be the head of the Negros Provincial Police Office but former PRO 7 director Marcelo Garbo relieved him from the post after he allegedly failed to curb illegal gambling in his area. His relief came as he was being considered for the position as CCPO director.

On Friday, CCPO will launch its cops on bicycle program, wherein policemen on bicycles will roam around tourist spots. The 12 bicycles are expected to arrive today and the 24 tourist police officers will start their training.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City government, through Liquor Licensing Commission vice chairman and Anti-Indecency Board head Lucelle Mercado, met with bar owners along General Maxilom Avenue recently to discuss the ordinance prohibiting the presence of bars within a 100-meter radius of a school or parish church, considering that they are near the St. Theresa's College.

Mercado suggested to the bar owners that instead of closing the business, they should implement a "late night liquor serving", which means they will only serve liquor after 11pm.

Last September 1, two Papua New Guinea nationals were arrested for allegedly getting into a fight with three bouncers at the entrance of a bar. The suspects also allegedly threw liquor bottles, hurting at least three other clubgoers.

Mercado said that the city wants to implement the 100-meter order but they also have to consider the businessmen who put up money for their business.

The city will decide on what actions to take next week, Mercado said.

 "Sa pagkakaron padayon pa gihapon ang among pagsukod sa kalay-on sa bar ug sa skwelahan, and padayon pa gihapon ang negotiation with the bar management," Mercado added. -with Kristine B. Quintas/QSB (FREEMAN)