City gives gear to SWAT team

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government yesterday gave the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) team of the city police office additional protective gear and gadgets.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña personally turned over the more than P700,000 worth of protective gear to Chief Inspector Arnel Banzon, chief of the city’s SWAT team.

Banzon was accompanied by Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., chairman of the City Council committee on peace and order, in going to the mayor’s office to get the donated gear.

The gear includes 10 units of bullet proof vests, 10 pieces of ballistics helmets, 10 pieces of goggles and a bullet shield.

Banzon said his men need to wear protective gear during their response to various alarms to prevent them from any harm.

It can be recalled that a city policeman was shot and killed by a suspected criminal whom he wanted to arrest during a raid on the subject’s house in barangay Day-as last year.

PO1 Noriel Luague was not wearing a bullet proof vest when he took part in the raid.

“Makapadasig g’yod ni sa mga polis sa pagtuman sa ilang katungdanan kun duna sila’y bullet proof vests nga isul-ob panahon sa raid,” said Banzon.

Osmeña said the city is willing to provide the city police of their needs.

He added that when he returns from the United States, he would attend to their problems to make them more effective in their task. — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM   (THE FREEMAN)