CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Mayor Rolando Uy is set to convene the City Peace Development and Security Council (CPDSC) to discuss a series of high-profile crime incidents in this city.
Uy, in a statement Saturday, July 23, asked the police here to put in additional effort to maintain peace and order and ensure security of residents.
“Kinahanglan maseguro nato ang seguridad sa katawhan sa syudad. Basi sa datos sa kapulisan, mi-ubos ang krimen, pero aduna usab mga high profile crimes. Busa akong gimanduan ang kapulisan nga dugangan ilang mga paningkamot (We need to ensure the security of our residents. Based on the data from the police, the crime rate dropped. However, there are high profile crimes. That is why I tasked the police to provide additional effort),” Uy said.
In a phone interview Saturday, Councilor Romeo Calizo, chairman of the Public Order and Safety Committee, said Uy has named him as the focal person of the CPDSC.
Calizo said the CPDSC will immediately convene after the issuance of the executive order (EO) for membership.
“Bag-o gyud ang member sa CPDSC. As soon as ma-issue ang executive order para sa memberships, immediately amo i-covene (There will be new members in the CPDSC. As soon as the executive order for the memberships would be released, we will immediately convene),” he said.
Calizo said the EO would possibly be issued next week.
He said they have met officers of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) to determine the cause of the series of high-profile crime incidents here.
DEADLY WEEK
A series of high-profile crimes rocked this city this week.
Last July 17 at around midnight, Cris Semaña, a delivery rider, was stabbed to death and his minor girlfriend was allegedly raped on Coastal Road, Barangay Lapasan.
Semaña and his girlfriend went to Coastal Road to have a peaceful place to settle their problems when two individuals approached and pointed a knife at them and brought them to a nearby grassy area.
Two of the three suspects have been arrested and the Agora police station has been continuing their investigation to identify and arrest the remaining suspect.
Two days later on July 19, Darnel Alisoto, 39, of Manticao, Misamis Oriental, a parking attendant, died after he was hit on the forehead with a hard object by an unidentified suspect while sleeping on a cemented part of PN Roa corner Ferrabrel St., Barangay Carmen.
After two days on July 21, another parking attendant died after he was stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle in Divisoria. Police identified the victim as Garry Dorin, 30, of Pabayo-Pacana St., Barangay 12, this city.
Suspects in the incidents have been arrested by the Divisoria police station.
On July 23, Avelimo Majorenos, 28, of Opol, Misamis Oriental, was shot dead in a commotion inside a bar on Corrales Ave., Barangay 29.
WHAT TO DO
Calizo backed the plan of Uy to revive the Operation Kahusay ug Kalinaw (OKK).
The OKK is the centralized police station in Divisoria and it was significant to the city’s peace and order situation in the early 1990s under the administration of the late Mayor Pablo "Ambing" Magtajas.
OKK is set for immediate activation to maintain the safety and security of this city in times of terror threat.
The OKK is composed of the city mayor, with councilors as his members, and includes the business and religious sectors, civil society organizations, and barangay officials.
Calizo also agreed with the recommendation of the local police to bring back curfew hours to boost security measures.
Police Lt. Col. Surki Sereñas, city police deputy director for operations, had earlier said that the amendment of the existing curfew ordinance which only covers 15-years-old and below is one of their requests to the city government as some minors have been involved in crime incidents.
Sereñas stressed that the curfew policy should cover all minor ages.
“Usa pud na sa atong ginahangyo sa lokal nga kagamhanan nga i-amend kay instead nga 15 gusto nato at least himuong 18 (That is one of our requests to the local government to amend (the city’s the existing curfew ordinance) that instead of 15 (years old), we want to at least to make it 18 (years old),” Sereñas said.
Calizo favored the police request. However, he said the curfew should not only be limited to minors as there have been individuals of legal age involved in crime incidents.
In amending the curfew, he stressed the need to balance so that the economy here would not be compromised.
“Kailangan balansehon pud nato kay basin makaapekto pud sa atong (We need also to balance because it might affect) our business establishments. Kay nasayod man ta nga ang source sa ato syudad (We all know that the source of our city), a big part is coming from taxes being paid from business,” Calizo said.