Mariano: Collaboration, police presence on streets needed to assure security, promote tourism

Police Colonel Roderick Mariano is one of the VIP guests for the three-day Suroy Suroy Sugbo Southern Heritage Trail. | Rosalie O. Abatayo

SIBONGA, Cebu, Philippines — The police should set out to the streets and collaborate with other law enforcers to establish their presence and prevent criminality

Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, provincial director of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said this was necessary to support the local government units’ programs on tourism

“As we promote tourism in the province, we need the stability of peace and order. That’s why we are maximizing our presence. Where Cebu goes, the Philippines goes. Kaya kung tahimik ang Cebu Province, mas maraming turista ang dadating (If Cebu is peaceful, many tourists would come here),” Mariano said in a CDN Digital interview in the sidelines of Suroy Suroy Sugbo.

Mariano is among the VIP delegates in the three-day tour caravan which kicked off Friday morning, November 15.

The tour caravan covers all the 22 southern towns and cities of the province.

Read more: Suroy Suroy Sugbo gives locals a chance to showcase talents

With the CPPO having 1,875 police officers, Mariano admitted that they were short of personnel, but he assured that they were doing interventions to maximize the efficiency of his personnel to cater to the province of 44 municipalities and seven cities.

“It is one of my priority projects to increase the number of tourist police and to capacitate our police personnel. Talagang kulang. Talaga. The PNP is continuously recruiting pero sa dami ng nagreretire din, parang hindi rin nababago yung number (We are short of personnel and the PNP is continuously recruiting but with several officials retiring, it seemed that the number of police officers had not changed),”Mariano said.

“Yung ating duty na babaguhin natin, dapat lumabas tayo ng kalye, ng streets para ma-maximize natin yung police presence and to ensure na safe lahat ng individuals dito sa Cebu province,” he said.

(The thing we should change is to go out in the streets to maximize police presence and to ensure the safety of all individuals in the province.)

He said that close coordination and collaboration with force multipliers and other law enforcers would also be necessary to stabilize peace and security.

“Meron naman tayong force multipliers and augmentation forces from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion and the (barangay police). Kailangan lang collaboration and unity ng mga law enforcement units natin,” Mariano said.

(We have force multipliers and augmentation forces from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion and the (barangay police). We just need collaboration and unity of law enforcement units.) /dbs