Tanods protest need to submit weekly report

CEBU, Philippines – City Hall’s requirement for them to submit weekly accomplishment reports does not sit well with a few barangay tanods.

Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention Chief Garry Lao, co-chairperson of the City Anti-drug Abuse Council, said that during his meeting with the barangays, there were tanods who said the requirement is an added burden to them.

Lao said he told them that it is not difficult to make a weekly report if the tanods just do their job efficiently since they would have something each week to report.

He also told them that reports should be countersigned by the police officers stationed in their area as proof of their authenticity.

He reiterated that the role of a barangay tanod is to maintain peace and order in their jurisdiction, including suppressing illegal drugs.

Lao said there are barangays that lack visibility of the barangay tanods, which he blames for the presence of criminality in the area.

The submission of weekly accomplishments reports serves as a basis for the city government whether to continue or suspend the giving of the P5,000 monthly to the tanods

He said the directive of the mayor was for the barangay tanods to do their job diligently; otherwise, they would not receive their allowances.

His office summarizes all weekly reports the tanods of Cebu City’s 80 barangays submit for the mayor’s perusal, as it would serve as basis whether he would suspend or not the allowances of the tanods.

To recall, the mayor came up with this idea after he noticed that the tanods failed to observe their duties well.

Meanwhile, Lao said he noticed that there are weekly reporters submitted that are “questionable” or have contents that are not connected with the tanods’ job.

"Ang tanod naay laing trabaho. Okay man na kay shifting man na sila, pero kung shift nila ang report gyud, dili kay for the sake of compliance.  Pataka lang og butang sa weekly report nila," he said.

He said there were also weekly reports where the tanods said they conducted roving patrols but got no proof to show for it. —/RHM (FREEMAN)