Residents report absence of cops on Talisay streets

Talisay City Vice Mayor Aberdovey Belleza yesterday asked City Police chief Audie Villacin to explain the absence of policemen on city streets and residential areas.

The vice mayor issued the memorandum to Villacin after receiving complaints from some people that they were robbed on the streets but saw no policemen to whom they could ask for help.

"Please cause a thorough investigation on this matter and adopt the corresponding corrective or preventive measures," Belleza wrote Villacin.

Belleza cited a complaint from a certain Jacklyn Apog who informed him of the rampant robberies and other forms of crime specifically in Tierra Grande, Camella Homes, in Lawaan where she resides.

Apog, in her one-page complaint, said she was riding a multicab from Minglanilla to Punta when three men boarded at barangay Pook then declared a hold-up in Bulacao where they took her wallet and cellphone.

"We were shocked at that time because we did not see any policeman or police outpost where we can seek assistance. At least, nobody was hurt," Apog said, adding that no police could also be seen from Linao through Bulacao.

Two young men were also held-up in the Central Market, and they too complained there were no policemen or police outpost nearby.

"The situation is very alarming to us. There are many subdivisions in the upland areas, which we usually think as a good place to live in but has been threatened now by criminality," Apog complained to Belleza.

Villacin meanwhile said that "the resurgence of robbery incidents...have caused shifting of police operational priorities to answer the current problem in the area."

Villacin said a team of policemen is now posted at Linao area, adding that the intelligence team of the City Police has been conducting its nightly patrol. - Garry B. Lao