CEBU CITY — Nine of out 10 policemen will be out on the street as police visibility will be increased in the 44 towns and six component cities of Cebu province for the holiday season.
Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) director Col. Rommel Ochave on Thursday, Sept. 15, instructed all chiefs of police in the province to make sure that 90 percent of their personnel will be out on field.
“The remaining 10 percent of personnel will do the administrative task,” said Lt. Col. Mark Gifter Sucalit, deputy provincial director for operations of the CCPO.
Sucalit said the order to increase police visibility came from Brig. Gen. Roque Eduardo Vega, chief of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas.
Sucalit said there is a need to increase the presence of police in public areas with the Christmas season just around the corner.
“It is during the ‘ber’ months that we expect petty crimes to increase,” said Sucalit.
As part of the measure to intensify police visibility, Sucalit said the CCPO will revive the tactical motor-riding unit (TMRU) that will be responsible in responding to alarms in mountain barangays. “They will also patrol areas that cannot be penetrated by our mobile cars,” said Sucalit.
In every police station, there should be four TMRU teams with each team composed of two police officers, Sucalit said.
But Sucalit admitted that some police stations do not have enough motorcycles that can be used by their personnel. “We will make do with what we have but we are advising police stations to coordinate with their respective local government unit so they could get possible help for their logistics,” said Sucalit.