City eyes tanods, guards to augment security

The city government has mulled the possibility of tapping security guards, tanods, and detective groups to compose auxiliary forces that would augment security in the city.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama, chairman of the city’s Police Coordinating and Advisory Council, yesterday said he will discuss with Police Regional Office-7 director Ronald Roderos an integrated approach in securing the city.

Rama said he had spoken already with Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon and the latter reportedly has given him the go-signal to discuss the matter with Roderos. 

Auxiliary forces consisting of security guards, barangay tanods, parish security men, and members of the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators, could definitely augment the city’s security measures, said Rama.

The vice mayor contended that considering these groups are in the front lines, it would be easier for them to act as backups of policemen in emergency cases. 

“If there are many of them, why don’t we organize them? The police should not look at them as secondary citizens but as allies,” Rama said, adding that the city would be willing to shoulder the costs of training and preparing these groups for the task.

The initial composition of these auxiliary groups will be those groups that are now working to secure their respective areas but Rama said that private people, who have been trained to carry licensed firearms, might be tapped later.

Rama’s plan came after the alarming trend of the so-called drive-by shootings in the city, the most recent of which occurred the other week in barangay Tisa where two students got hit and wounded while sitting by the roadside with friends.

Rama slammed at the police’s request not to be paranoid by the drive-by shootings, which they said the media had unduly sensationalized.

He said he would rather have the public paranoid so that they would be vigilant for their safety. “If the PNP needs the community to be part of it, then the more we should be paranoid...all I want is that everybody should be paranoid on peace and order!” he said.

Rama likened the scenario to the city’s supposed “paranoia” over the invasion of the deadly dengue virus that has doubled the number of incidents this year compared to that of last year in Cebu City.

He said that if the city government was not “paranoid” to place the city in a state of emergency, then it would not have been ready to address the rising number of dengue cases.

Police believed the shooting incidents in the streets should not be automatically described as drive-by shootings because the perpetrations are usually out for a thrill only.

Cebu City Police director, Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Commendador earlier requested the media to refrain from projecting the city as dangerous, and to describe instead these drive-by shootings and fraternity or gang-related violence as simple shooting incidents.

Three people have already been killed and at least six others have been injured in two drive-by shootings in the city that took place less than two months of each other. — Joeberth M. Ocao/RAE