Osmeña gives 10 days for CCPO to solve strafing of barangay chiefs’ homes

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña challenged Cebu City Police Director Police Colonel Royina Garma to solve in 10 days the strafing incident in the house of Sudlon II Barangay Captain Prescillo Albores. | Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is giving the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) 10 days to solve the strafing of the houses of Sudlon II Barangay Captain Prescillo Albores and Sinsin Barangay Captain Aurelio Laspoña on the dawn of Thursday, April 4.

Read more: Homes of two village chiefs peppered with bullets 

The home of Albores was peppered with bullets around 1:15 a.m. breaking one of the house’s glass windows. Witnesses around the area claimed that five masked men onboard three motorcycles were responsible for the strafing with high-powered firearms.

Twenty minutes later, four masked gunmen went and fired at the house of Sinsin Barangay Captain Aurelio Laspoña. The two barangays are 7.3 kilometers apart.

Osmeña, who went to visit the home of Albores, said that if the police could not solve the incident, he would accuse them of being the perpetrators of the crime, and suspend the city-issued allowances of policemen assigned in the mountain barangays.

“Because if they cannot find the suspects, then it means that the police are the suspect themselves. I just say give them (police) the benefit of the doubt. Give them 10 days,” said Osmeña.

Read more: Garma on Osmeña’s 10-day deadline: It’s childish way of solving something

Osmeña is also mulling to place the entire city under Commission on Election (Comelec) control because he believed the strafing was politically motivated.

“Every indication is consistent with other circumstances that it is politically motivated. They are targeting only BO-PK barangay officials, (such as) Sinsin, Sudlon, Lusaran. But they will not touch Sudlon I because it’s kusog (strong) the Team Barug, that’s Team Rama,” he said.

Osmeña also said that police were being used for political means by perhaps, the opposition party, since he received reports that some habal-habal drivers caught for traffic violations by the police were asked to get a campaign sticker from the opposing party so they could get off from the violation.

With this, Osmeña instructed all Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) barangay chiefs to “never resist” against the police in order to keep safe.

“I already instructed the barangay captains: Do not challenge or sacrifice themselves. Don’t resist. Ayaw na lang. I do not like to sacrifice my people for politics,” said Osmeña.

For the Sudlon II barangay chief, Osmeña said he would be providing security for the family.

However, he said that even with ample security, if someone was targeted, then they would easily be killed.

“If they want to get you, they’ll get you,” said Osmeña./dbs