Police may use barangay vehicles

CEBU, Philippines — The Police Regional Office -7 might just detail cops in the barangays so they can use the vehicles there if Mayor Tomas Osmeña will stay true to his promise of cutting the funds for the maintenance of vehicles City Hall issued to the PNP.

“We can always augment our police sa mga barangay hall aron mugamit na lang sila sa mga barangay provided vehicles, but ang problema ana kay ang adlaw-adlaw nga pag-adto sa mga korte, taga-adlaw gud na,” said Cebu City Police Office Deputy City Director Artemio Ricabo.

PRO-7 spokesperson Reyman Tolentin said cutting the funds will certainly affect the mobility of the policemen at the Cebu City Police Office-7 and the various police stations here.

“It will affect the operational mobility of Cebu City, considering nga kung dili ma-maintain ang sakyanan basin maguba… instead magamit, dili na magamit, kay if dili ma-maintain ang sakyanan, basin maguba… eventually, it will weaken ilahang operational capability,” he told reporters yesterday.

Tolentin said they are continuing to look for options and other possible sources of funds to maintain the 90 vehicles issued by the city.

The city government has lent 40 four-wheeled vehicles and 50 motorcycles to the PNP.

Osmeña decided to withdraw the funds for the vehicles following a recent word war with the PNP over the spate of killings here.

He also left it to the PNP to handle the registration of the vehicles.

The cost for maintenance and registration of one four-wheeled can reach P50,000 while the cost for motorcycle maintenance and registration can go up to P10,000.

Ricabo said that if the threat to cut funds pushes through, they might have to get a portion of the P10,000 budget for fuel allocated for each police station. Requesting additional budget from Camp Crame can reach up to a year, he said.

Osmeña has been accusing the police of coddling hitmen responsible for the recent spate of killings in the city but the police have since denied the same and even challenged the mayor to prove his accusations.

Osmeña was quoted as saying: “There are people here with police protection who are going around killing people. I’m not a great detective but that’s what it smells like.”

The criticism heightened after the supposed assassination attempt of the mayor’s supporter, Barangay Tejero councilman Jessielou Cadungog last week.

The alleged gunman that Cadungog’s bodyguard killed turned out to be a policeman, identified as PO3 Eugene Calumba, but PRO-7 insisted the cop and his companion, a police asset, were not hitmen and were just conducting surveillance.

Yesterday, Tolentin said: “There is a need for LGU and PNP to work hand in hand. Atoang balaod, ang PNP and gi-provide suweldo MOE, all others, naa sa locality ang support, so kun mawala ang maintenance, we will find out, we will source it out unsa paagi.” (FREEMAN)