19 Negros towns to get patrol cars

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – All 19 municipalities in Negros Occidental are set to receive a police patrol car, according to 4th district Representative Jeffrey Ferrer.

Ferrer said each of the municipal government units will get one patrol car from Department of the Interior and Local Government.

This, he said, was disclosed to him by Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas when the latter met the provincial government officials here on Friday for a “closed-door” meeting in Talisay City.

Ferrer said that the distribution of the patrol cars in the province was set on October.

At least 1,400 patrol cars were procured by the DILG for distribution to different towns nationwide, the solon said.

As of now, 500 patrol cars have already been distributed, he added.

Meanwhile, Ferrer said the DILG has also procured fire trucks as part of the modernization program of the government.

In April this year, the Philippine National Police acquired 210 new, multi-role patrol jeeps that will be used for law enforcement and disaster response operations.

During the blessing of the vehicles at PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame, Roxas said the vehicles will be used to support the PNP units’ troop movement and deployment.

The multi-role jeeps will also be used in other special operations such as civil assistance during civic actions, relief and search and rescue and internal security operations, he added.

The jeeps will be distributed to all PNP Regional Public Safety Battalion, Provincial Public Safety Company, City Public Safety Company, National Capital Region Police Office-District Public Safety Company, Special Action Force, Maritime Group, and NCRPO District Special Weapons and Tactics.

He said that procurement of the vehicles was done with “no issues or no controversies,” adding that the original budget for the procurement was pegged at almost P476 million.

The 210 patrol jeeps are in addition to the 1,470 light patrol jeeps purchased by the PNP to be distributed to each municipality nationwide. —/JMD