Cebu police to deploy secret marshals in passenger jeeps

CEBU CITY — In response to last Wednesday’s fatal shooting of a 19-year-old coed during a jeepney holdup, police are deploying secret marshals in passenger jeepneys to help stop robberies.

Chief Superintendent Silverio Alarcio, regional police director, has ordered all city and provincial police directors to deploy secret marshals as part of an intensified campaign against crimes taking place in public utility jeepneys (PUJs).

The coed, Carmela Cabañog, was shot dead by a holdupman inside a PUJ. Another suspected jeepney robber, Leonardo Paraiso Jr., 26, was arrested in Minglanilla town where irate residents ganged up on him after he had held up a girl and stabbed a man.

Police believe that deploying the secret marshals would significantly deter crimes in PUJs.

Members of special police units will be among those tapped to serve as secret marshals, Alarcio said.

In a command conference, Alarcio also ordered local police chiefs to intensify random checkpoints and study the "crime clocks" in their respective areas.

The "crime clock" is a statistical compilation of crimes indicating what time they happen, allowing law enforcers to study any patterns.

Alarcio also wanted policemen to be more visible and to fully utilize their field training as part of the preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu in December.

However, a major hitch is the lack of firearms. Most policemen sent here to augment the local force are doing office work due to the lack of weapons for their patrols.

The Cebu City police has only more than 900 men tasked to maintain peace and order in 80 barangays with 1.5 million permanent and transient residents. — With Norvie Misa/ Freeman News Service