A glimpse at the facade of the Cebu City Hall. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The temporary absence of blue guards at the Cebu City Hall is not a cause for concern.
Lawyer Jerone Castillo, the city’s acting budget officer, said Civil Security Unit (SCU) personnel and force multipliers are making sure that both the City Hall executive and legislative buildings and its satellite offices remain “guarded and secured.”
“The truth of the matter is that dili gyud na magkaguliyang ang City Hall kay naa man tay built-in security. We have the CSU and we have so many force multipliers,” Castillo said in a press conference on Saturday, November 4.
City officials have already pre-terminated its contract with GDS Security Agency that used to provide blue guards to City Hall starting at midnight on October 31 due to various concerns that include poor performance and the unauthorized storage of their weapons in some government offices during the implementation of the election gun ban, in relation to the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
Moreover, reports have reached city officials on a violent incident involving a blue guard and a City Hall employee.
The city’s contract with the security agency was supposed to end in 2025 yet.
Pre-termination of contract
During the press conference on Saturday, City Administrator Collin Rosell corrected misconception that the pre-termination of the city’s contract with the security agency was without basis.
He said that due process was followed.
In addition, they also had enough grounds to support the decision.
“Ang pag terminate [sa contract] ana naay basehan. Klaro nga dunay basehan. Ang basehan ana una ang performance, second if magkuha tag security kinahanglan naa tay kumpiyansa ug pagsalig,” Rosell said during the press conference that was also attended by Acting Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros.
Replacement security agency
The replacement security agency is set to start the deployment of blue guards at City Hall on November 10 after they would have complied with government requirements.
Rosell gave the assurance that they will properly scrutinize the credentials of the new agency to make sure that their blue guards are well equipped and properly trained.
Until then, CSU personnel and force multipliers that would include personnel of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and other government agencies will oversee the security of government offices at the City Hall.
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