Makati cops to patrol exclusive subdivisions

MANILA, Philippines - Following at least two robberies, security managers and officials of Makati City’s exclusive subdivisions agreed yesterday to allow police officers to conduct patrols as part of a new security plan.

“This is some sort of a soft opening. From time to time, our police officers will be allowed to conduct police visibility and security patrols inside these subdivisions. However, the subdivision homeowners have set certain conditions,” said acting city police chief Superintendent Jaime Santos.

He earlier said one obstacle in the anti-crime operations of the Makati city police is the policy of the city’s exclusive subdivisions not to allow police officers in the villages.

According to Santos, police officers who will go on patrol in the subdivisions will have to be identified by the police headquarters prior to going on duty and submit their cell phone numbers to the home­owners’ representatives.

“It is only the homeowners who do not want police officers inside the subdivisions. We have no problems with the security managers of the subdivisions. According to the homeowners, they do not want police officers freely entering the subdivisions as there are many prominent and VIP (very important personalities) residents,” Santos said.

Santos said the “soft opening” of the new security plan will be carried out on an “observation phase” for the next two weeks. After which, a monitoring team composed of representatives from the police, homeowners and village security managers, will evaluate it.

Among the villages that have agreed to the implementation of the security plan are Urdaneta Village, Forbes Park, Dasmarinas Village, Bel-Air and San Lorenzo.

Meanwhile, aside from police security patrols inside the villages, village officials have also agreed to put up closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at the entrances and exits of the subdivisions.

Santos said the security managers of these villages have also agreed to furnish police with copies of CCTV footage should these prove useful in solving crimes committed in the villages.

Among those who had been robbed recently are Iranian Ambassador Ali Ashgar Mohammadi in Forbes Park and Briton John Anthony Edwards in Dasmariñas Village.