QCPD to revive police unit in UP

The Quezon City Police District is set to revive its own police unit inside the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus in an effort to maintain security following an armored van robbery last month.

QCPD director Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula said the “liaison office” will be like a regular police precinct that will be open 24 hours seven days every week “that can quickly react any time there is an incident.” “It will serve as a point of contact between the UP Diliman Police and the QCPD. The key here is coordination,” Gatdula said in an interview following a meeting with UP Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Grace Gregorio and the chief of the UP DIliman Police yesterday morning.

Gatdula said he is even planning to designate a new mobile patrol car for the use of the would-be reactivated liaison office. Apart from the security of the students and school personnel, Gatdula also mentioned the growing number of commercial establishments inside the campus that need police security.

According to Gatdula, the liaison office was once in place but was deactivated sometime in 2004 or 2005 after policemen assigned there retired.

Gatdula said they also agreed upon during the meeting the patrolling in five hotspots around the periphery of the campus.

These are Krus na Ligas, UP Arboretum, Philcoa, C.P. Garcia Avenue, and the area near Katipunan Avenue.

He said there have been cases of theft and robbery and killings reported in these areas.

The robbery outside the UP Bahay ng Alumni in Nov. 10 brought concerns regarding a memorandum of agreement barring policemen from patrolling inside the campus. But according to Gatdula, the moves they discussed during his meeting with the UP officials yesterday would not violate the agreement and that the campus itself was still “not open to policemen.”

“We’re working within the context of the MOA. There is no conflict with the MOA. The freedom (of UP as an academic institution) is still there and we’ll just maintain the patrolling of the areas (within the periphery of the campus),” he added.

The QCPD chief said the identified “hot spots” will be covered by the regular patrol operations of the QCPD-Station 9 or the QCPD-Mobile Patrol Unit.  As for the liaison office, he said he is considering sourcing the manpower from the QCPD’s District Mobile Force.   — Reinir Padua