CPPO allots funds to pay power bills

CEBU, Philippines - As promised, the Police Regional Office (PRO) - 7 has included a budget for electricity bill in its annual budget, which means the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) may not have to worry about its power situation getting cut off.

CPPO Director Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., went to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday to report the update of the inclusion of the electric bill in PRO-7’s regular operating expenses. 

Last year, the Visayan Electric Company cut-off CPPO’s electricity connection twice due to unpaid bills. This resulted to a paralysis in CPPO’s operations.

PRO-7 and CPPO officials promised last year that they will address the problem to prevent it from happening again.

The provincial government assisted the police by shouldering the electricity bill for a year. Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said last year that the province would shoulder CPPO’s electricity bill as a sign of support to the police. It was agreed, however, that CPPO should allocate a budget for its electricity bill this year.

In an earlier interview, Comendador said in an interview that the bills would be under PRO-7 beginning this month.

Comendador also said they are looking for possibility of getting their own transformer to prevent power fluctuations, especially since there are more offices to be relocated in the area that will consume more energy.

Meanwhile, Comendador assured that they are prepared for the influx of tourist in Cebu for the summer season.

With Cebu being a known tourist destination by locals and foreigners alike, Comendador said they have “Oplan SumVac (Summer Vacation)” wherein police officers are designated in all areas especially in tourist spots all over the province. The recently launched “Tourist Police” will also guard tourist areas. – (FREEMAN)