Cebu City police prepare contingency plans for New Year revelries

CDN DIGITAL FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Apart from monitoring criminal activities and the violation of health protocols, Cebu City policemen will also be on the lookout for those who will be using firecrackers to celebrate the New Year.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said the additional duties are being readied in line with their New Year deployment.

Parilla said that all police personnel in Cebu City will be in full force on December 31 and January 1. This means that all will report to their respective areas of jurisdiction.

As of this posting, CCPO has 1,080 police personnel with at least 70 augmentation forces from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB-7) already designated in 11 police stations in the city.

Parilla said that apart from enforcing police visibility, they will also be conducting information drives to remind the public that using firecrackers is not allowed.

Parilla said violators will be warned and their firecrackers confiscated.

On Monday, December 27, the Cebu City government also prohibited the use of firecrackers in the city.

The Cebu City Fire Office has also expressed concern over individuals who use firecrackers in their respective villages as this may cause fire.

CCFO has recorded around 21 fire incidents from December 17 to 27, 2021, wherein majority were caused by unattended lighted candles and the reckless use of firecrackers.

Damage to property from these fires has already reached an estimated P21,808,930.

Since keeping the city safe is a shared responsibility, city policemen also appeal to the public to man their own villages as police can’t monitor all the nooks and crannies in the city. /rcg