Police advise public: Be merry, also wary

CEBU, Philippines -  With only two days left before Christmas Day, the director of the Police Regional Office-7 reminded the public to focus not just on spending but on protecting their hard-earned money, especially during rush hours.

This, even though theft incidents in the region have decreased compared to last year according to the data from the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division in the PRO-7.

Accordingly, only 529 theft cases were recorded in the month of September this year, about half of last year’s 1,034 cases for the same period.

Last October, at least 940 cases were recorded compared to 1,041 cases for the same month last year. Last month, police also recorded only 864 theft cases while last year’s November saw 1,018 cases.

This significant decrease in the number of theft cases are reportedly because of intensified police visibility, police operations or target hardening measures.

However, PRO-7 director Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, said public should still be vigilant for themselves since security and law enforcement is everyone’s concern.

“Crime prevention is everybody’s concern. Let us protect our properties, our hard-earned money by being aware of our surroundings,” said Gaerlan.

He said while most people are busy buying gifts for their loved ones or going out to have a good time, lawless elements will always take any advantage to get easy money.

“Kasi ganitong season, marami rin gusto mangbiktima. They take advantage of the confusion, they take advantage of rush hour, yung siksikan, ang daming shoplifters and pickpockets especially in the big malls,” he said.

With this, Gaerlan said he directed the police directors, especially the city directors to coordinate with the internal security of the malls.

As part of the police preparation for holidays, he also said he instructed his men to increase police presence in the streets and also deploy covert operatives or plainclothes policemen.

Cooler waiting area

Passengers going to their hometowns to celebrate Christmas can expect cooler waiting areas at the Cebu South Bus Terminal, this after the upgrade on the electrical system of the terminal was already completed.

CSBT operations manager Ramon Dumayac said the waiting areas are already supported by at least seven air conditioning units. The glass panels that were removed pending the upgrade have been put back in place.

He said they are planning to purchase additional air conditioners in January to replace units which already bogged down and provide fully air conditioned waiting lounges.

He noted that the upgrade has been stalled for more than a year because they were working on complying with the documentary requirements, such as the building permit.

As part of their preparation for Christmas, the terminal management has requested security augmentation from the Capitol.

Dumayac said the volume of passengers is expected to increase starting today.

Full Force

The Cebu City Transportation Office is set to deploy its full force of 180 field personnel throughout the city this Christmas break, along with 50 parking aides, to assist  in the traffic enforcement and control.

According to CCTO Executive Director Rey Gealon these personnel are required an additional one hour of duty daily to cope with the grueling demands of traffic operations and management.

Gealon added that even though the agency is not expecting heavy traffic flow this Christmas vacation, they are still prepared for this possibility.

“We are not expecting that but we are always prepared for that. Ordinarily, during the holidays, a significant number of motorists go out of town, so, that supposedly decreases the usual number of vehicles to manage. But now, with the IEC to be held here, quite a number of delegates are in town with vehicles in tow and that adds up to that usual number we are managing,” said Gealon.

CCTO is implementing no rerouting schemes for this season, but Gealon suggested to motorists to take alternative routes if traffic jams occur.—Ma. Fatima R. Secuya, Christell Fatima M. Tudtud, Michael Vencynth H. Braga, Gabriel C. Bonjoc and Saison Dampios Jr. /BRP