Councilor Dave Tumulak. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
NEW bulletproof vests and helmets and fire pumps are among the equipment that the Cebu City government will provide to the city’s police force and fire department.
This developed after the Cebu City Council approved a P6.7-million request by the Peace and Order Program (POP) for the purchase of various firefighting and police equipment to be used during emergency response incidents during their regular session last week.
“Emergency responders are sometimes under incredible stress to perform their work at the highest caliber due to poor equipment and supplies. A police and fire tool may mean the difference between saving someone’s life and a terrible accident,” read the resolution which was sponsored by Councilor Dave Tumulak.
Tumulak said that the request was already approved by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña last month.
Under the request of the POP, they are asking for ballistic or bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets (P3.7 million), two units of fire pumps to be installed to water tankers (P2 million), UHF portable radios (P780,000), and a repeater system (P275,000).
The budget needed for the purchases will be charged to the city’s shares from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo said the charging of the amount to Pagcor is allowed by the guidelines for the funds. She has also issued a certificate of availability of funds for the purchase.
According to Arnel Tancinco, head of the POP, they had problems in accessing their approved budget under the POP for this year, which is why they decided to charge it to the Pagcor funds.
“These equipment were requested by the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the CCPO (Cebu City Police Office). The fire pumps will be for the fire department. The role of the city’s Peace and Order Program is for funding support,” he told Cebu Daily News.
After the council’s approval, Tancinco said his office will process the purchase request documents.
The actual purchase will be done through a public bidding, he added.
Based on the specifics of the purchase request, a total of 60 units of UHF portable radios will be bought for P13,000 each.
There will also be 30 pieces of ballistic helmets costing P50,000 each to be purchased, and another 20 sets of kevlar vests worth P35,000 each.