Policemen respond to a “robbery” at a pawnshop along Leon Kilat Street in Cebu City on Thursday morning, September 12. The robbery was staged by law enforcers as part of a simulation exercise. | CDN Photo/Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A group of men carrying large firearms suddenly barged into a pawnshop along Leon Kilat Street in downtown Cebu City on Thursday morning, September 12.
Several passersby were startled with the arrival of the armed men and grew alarmed that another pawnshop robbery was taking place.
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The incident, however, was staged by the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) as part of their simulation exercise on police response to criminal incidents.
Four men posed as holduppers who arrived at the pawnshop onboard motorcycles at around 11:00 a.m.
Less than one minute later, the men fled the scene carrying the “stolen jewelries.” They also used a four-wheeled vehicle to store the products as they escaped.
Responding police officers arrived at the scene at around 11:13 a.m. and began assessing, as well as interviewing witnesses.
Police Colonel Antonietto Cañete, acting city director of CCPO, also swiftly arrived at the scene to spearhead the investigation.
After a few hours, Cañete declared that the activity was a success.
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He explained that the purpose of the simulation exercise would be to accustom their personnel as well as the public on how to properly respond to criminal incidents, such as a robbery.
This exercise is timely considering that three pawnshops in the area have been robbed by armed men since the previous year.
The police chief said that they had found that their personnel were in need of practice in order to improve their capabilities to swiftly respond to emergency situations.
Furthermore, Cañete emphasized that all of the police stations in and out of the city must assist for “Oplan Universe” in the event of major incidents like robberies.
On Thursday afternoon, CCPO personnel conducted a debriefing among themselves to discuss their observations on the conduct of the exercise and recommendations on how they can further improve.