10 hours a week per cop, says Central Visayas police chief
STAYING VISIBLE. Police regional director Chief Supt. Prudencio “Tom” Bañas (2nd from left) leads a foot patrol along Colon Street with Supt. Renato Dugan, Police Community Relations officer, and Supt. Rex Derilo (right), acting chief of the Regional Intelligence Bureau. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A week after a businessman was gunned down on Colon Street, Chief Supt. Prudencio “Tom” Bañas led police officials on a foot patrol in downtown Cebu City.
The Central Visayas police director said all units have to intensify foot patrols, a “back to basics” approach ordered by the new PNP Director General Ricardo Marquez who visited Cebu last week.
Even policemen engaged in office work will have to render patrol duty for at least 10 hours per week, said Bañas.
He led a patrol from Camp Sergio Osmeña to Colon Street.
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“Dapat di lang ngayon yan. Hati-hati kami as long as walang trabahong ginagawa. (This should be sustained. We will all take part as long as we don’t have anything to do),” he told reporters.
He said he is requiring all division chiefs to comply with the PNP chief’s marching order for high police visibility or else face sanctions.
There were no fresh leads into the whereabouts of the killers of Lorega businessman Jaime Villaceran who was shot dead in his van at the junction of Osmeña Blvd. and Colon past 7 a.m. of July14.
No policeman was in the junction at the time. The policeman assigned there was attending a seminar while a police trainee went to join two other policemen at the other end of the block.
Police could not find CCTV footage of the killing.
During yesterday’s foot patrol, Bañas paused to talk to some sidewalk vendors, shook hands with some security guards and noted at least two policemen stationed at each street corner.
Senior Supt. Marciano Batiancela Jr., acting Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, said he and his men werein the field as early as 7 a.m. yesterday.
“I coordinated with the police stations in Carbon, Parian and Waterfront and gave them instructions based on the directive of our PNP chief. We will be leaving fewer personnel in the stations so they can conduct roving patrols in their areas everyday,” he said.
Batiancela said those already on beat patrol will go directly to their assigned area while office workers can render patrol duty for two hours a day.
Bañas said vendors and security guards told him the downtown area was relatively peaceful yesterday.
“But that does not mean that Cebu City police officials will be lax. They should continue with their foot patrol, especially at times when street crimes are normally high,” he said.
Supt. Romeo Santander, chief of the Cebu City Police Office Intelligence Branch (CIB), said checkpoints will also be conducted daily on top of the foot patrols.
He declined to elaborate.
During his visit last Friday, Marquez said foot patrols would not only deter street crimes but also allow police officers to build relationships within the community.
He said the exercise will also force policemen to lose excess weight./With Correspondent Chito O. Aragon
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