CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- City Mayor Rolando Uy on Wednesday, July 27, clarified that he has not issued any executive order (EO) implementing curfew, specifically for minors, following a recent series of crime incidents here.
Uy made the statement during an interview over Magnum Radio in reaction to an allegation that he had imposed a curfew through executive order which was being circulated in social media.
“Wala koy executive order nga akong ibalik ang curfew sa mga minor. Wala, wala. Kay ngano? Kung minor ang akong tagaan og adunay curfew, nagpasabot nga adunay discrimination (I don’t have executive order that I plan to re-impose the curfew for the minors. Why? If I implement curfew for the minors, that means there is discrimination),” the mayor said.
The local chief executive, however, admitted he received a recommendation from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) to impose a curfew for minors up to 18 years old.
But he clarified that he still needed to consult the proposal to the other sectors, especially the business sector.
The curfew recommendation for minors up to 18 years old became a hot topic after some minors were involved in the recent incidents here, said Police Lt. Col. Surki Sereñas, the COCPO deputy director for operations.
However, Councilor Romeo Calizo, chairman of the city council’s Public Order and Safety committee, earlier said that curfew should not be limited to minors as there were also adults involved in the recent incidents here.
Balancing the security and economy has also been stressed by the city officials amid curfew discussion as they want establishments to regain profitability after suffering economic losses due to the restrictions brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The city has an existing curfew implementation covering children aged 14 years old and below under the city ordinance no. 4373-94.
Meanwhile, the curfew implemented as measures against Covid-19 pandemic was lifted on June 6 this year by former Cagayan de Oro mayor Oscar Moreno.
In regards to the series of incidents last week, the COCPO already clarified that there is no crime surge here and stressed that the weekly average of crime incidents in the city has, in fact, dropped to eight from 10 based on their 28-week monitoring.
However, in ensuring the peace and order, Uy earlier said that he is planning to create Oro Police Auxiliary Teams that would be deployed, if realized, to the 10 police stations here as additional manpower to the police forces.
Uy said the proposal is set to be presented to the different sectors to determine if it is necessary.
“Mangonsulta ko sa mga negosyante, sa mga NGO, sa media puhon kung angayan ba nga adunay Oro Police Auxiliary (I will consult the businessmen, the NGOs , the media if it is appropriate to have Oro Police Auxiliary),” added Uy.
The city mayor is also planning to provide additional patrol cars and motorcycles to the different police stations that would be used for immediate response to various incidents.