Policemen on floating status pending investigation for various offenses will man traffic. Considering that they are still receiving their salaries, they will be made to work for it. It will also increase police visibility in the streets.
CDN FILE PHOTO
Policemen in Central Visayas who are on floating status or have not been given assignments while being investigated for various offenses will soon be seen on the streets in the region.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) plans to deploy around 50 policemen who are currently under the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU), to traffic management.
Since they are still receiving their salaries, PRO-7 director Chief. Supt. Jose Mario Espino ordered the 50 policemen to man the traffic.
“Mostly those who are in PHAU are just waiting. Sayang lang, sumusweldo sila sila (they are being paid) doing nothing,” Espino said.
Espino said it would be better if these police officers can still be used to help the government so as not to waste the salaries given to them.
He also said this will increase police visibility in the streets.
But before PRO-7 allows these policemen to be traffic personnel, Espino said that they requested some local government units to train these policemen in traffic control first.
“They will be deployed in intersections where there is traffic congestion during rush hours in the morning and in the afternoon,” Espino said.
These policemen will not be supervising traffic enforcers, nor will they be allowed to carry firearms, said Espino.
“They are just there for traffic direction and control,” Espino said.
PHAU chief Senior Insp. Andres Alpas said they are now preparing the list of policemen under the floating status in the region.
He said he received Espino’s memorandum last August 30 ordering the assignment of the policemen to traffic management.
“We will submit the list to the police stations, and the police stations will be the one who will assign them,” Alpas said.