PRO-7 chief: Aid for families of cops, who died of COVID, readied

The Philippine flag at the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) headquarters in Camp Sergio Osmeña is flown half-mast to honor the two policemen from Cebu City Police Office who passed away due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on June 14, 2020. | Photo from PRO-7 PIO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) will not abandon the families of the two policemen, who succumbed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on June 14, 2020.

This was the assurance of Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, PRO-7 director,  in a teleconference with the reporters on Monday, June 15.

According to Ferro, the death of the two personnel under the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), who were considered as the first two policemen to die of the virus in PRO-7, was a great loss to the organization especially during this time of crisis.

Read: Two Cebu City policemen die of COVID-19

Ferro assured that the family of the two policemen would be able to receive assistance as it was the least they could do compared to the services the two had rendered to keep the community safe.

“All the assistance is being processed because we have the automatic help from the PNP and other agencies of the government,” said Ferro.

He, however, did not specify how much the families would receive as assistance from the PRO-7.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the two police officers as per protocol were cremated earlier this morning.

All flags in the region were requested to be in half mast in honor of the fallen comrades, said Ferro.

Despite the incident, Ferro said that the PRO-7 force would remain “dedicated and committed” in protecting the public.

As per the contact tracing of those, who were encountered by the two policemen – one was detailed in the crime laboratory and the other in the Crisis Response Battalion (CSB) – and all the other personnel were advised to be in home quarantine including the family members of the victims.

All the CCPO personnel also underwent rapid testing earlier to immediately find out if there are other carriers of the virus./dbs

Read: Policemen in Cebu City undergo rapid testing