DAVIDE, RADAZA, QUISUMBING, SITOY-CHO
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and at least three Metro Cebu mayors are unwilling to adopt the kill-a-criminal-for-a-reward method of Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña in addressing crimes.
Davide yesterday said local government units are free to decide on their incentive schemes for policemen who have shown outstanding anti-crime performances, but he was cool to the idea of a bounty system for slain criminals.
“As far as the province is concerned, wala pa ta ana (we don’t have a reward scheme). Para nako, dili proper una nga manghatag ta og bounty (For me, it’s not proper that we should be giving bounty),” the governor told Cebu Daily News by phone when sought for comment yesterday.
Mayor-elect Luigi Quisumbing of Mandaue City, reelected Mayor Paz Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City and incoming Mayor Ma. Therese “Techie” Sitoy-Cho of Cordova town said in separate interviews yesterday that they would strengthen police presence in their streets and institute other anti-crime measures instead of offering a bounty for every slain criminal.
The police chief of Mandaue City, Senior Supt. Jonathan Cabal, said that while it might be possible that criminals fleeing from Cebu City could end up in Mandaue, he warned there would be no room for them in his city.
“They can try. At least libre yung patay, mas maganda (Here, at least, slaying a criminal is for free and that’s even better),” he said in jest.
“We will do our work without fear and favor. Of course, an incentive is an added bonus, but I encourage my people . . . I keep telling them that our motivation should be service, not monetary gain,” he stressed.
Quisumbing, the outgoing representative of Cebu’s sixth congressional district, also said he has no plan at all to follow Osmeña’s bounty scheme, saying he believed in the capability of the police to do their job even without having to offer them incentives.
Osmeña offered a P50,000 reward to policemen, barangay tanods (village watchmen) or even civilians who could kill a person caught in the act of committing a crime. If the suspect was only injured, the reward is P5,000. So far, one Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) policeman, PO3 Julius Regis, has received from Osmeña a cash reward of P20,000 for shooting and wounding two robbery suspects last Tuesday.
Quisumbing said it would be better if policemen do their job because it is what they were supposed to do, and not because of the reward. He noted that even Regis welcomed the recognition more than the cash reward.
“You can see the reaction of the officer (PO3 Julius Regis) that he was ultimately happy being able to do the job properly and not for the reward,” said Quisumbing.
However, Quisumbing said he would support the plan of presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to increase the salary of and provide allowances to policemen.
“We will be able to help the situation of officers by providing them allowances, but giving individual incentives for killing criminals is something we wouldn’t likely do in Mandaue,” he said.
At present, Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) personnel receive from P500 to P1,500 cash allowance per month from the city while those in Lapu-Lapu each gets a monthly allowance of P2,000, also from the city government.
Quisumbing said he was not worried that criminals would transfer to Mandaue, as he has complete faith in the capability of the MCPO to curve an influx of crimes in the city.
“The nice thing about Mandaue is that the city is relatively small compared to Cebu City. Information and intelligence gathering is quicker. Police will be able to react quickly,” he said.
Radaza, for her part, said that the concern she felt about the possible transfer of operation of criminals and drug personalities from Cebu City to Lapu-Lapu City was not enough to compel her to do an Osmeña.
She said that while she would be willing to back the tough anti-crime policies espoused by the incoming president, she believed it would be “too much” to give a cash reward, as it could lead to human rights abuses.
Instead, Radaza said she would focus on giving all the support needed by the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO) to drive out all bad elements from the city.
Among others, the city government would be willing to provide additional firearms to the city policemen, additional vehicles and motorcycles for police visibility, and increase the monthly allowance for LCPO men and women, she added.
“We can give a reward depending on the case, like offering a reward money to help catch a wanted person and recognize police of a job well done,” said Radaza.
Radaza said she met this week with the city’s top police officers led by Senior Supt. Arnel Libed, the LCPO chief, and asked Libed to submit a proposal on what the city policemen needed.
According to Radaza, Libed also shared her position that policemen should do their duties and responsibilities without looking at the incentives that they might get.
“The reward system may just be a morale booster, but we can always work effectively with or without the reward system,” Libed later said in a separate interview.
He said Radaza has directed the LCPO to intensify the monitoring and arrest of drug personalities and other criminals to ensure that both the city’s residents and its huge tourist population would continue to feel safe while in the city.
In Cordova, Sitoy-Cho said she would not agree to giving cash rewards to policemen who would kill or wound a criminal as it could be abused and policemen might no longer perform well if the reward is stopped.
Sitoy-Cho said she was not worried that criminals, particularly drug personalities, might transfer their operation in Cordova since they could be easily monitored in a small town like hers.
Cordova, on the southern tip of Mactan Island, is a 17.5-square-kilometer third class municipality (annual income: P35 million to P45 million) of about 50,000 residents.
Sitoy-Cho stressed she was open to granting rewards to the city’s police force, but it could be in the form of recognizing police efforts and job well done that, in turn, could be done through either cash incentives or by providing additional equipment to the concerned policeman or his unit.
As deterrent to crimes, Sitoy-Cho said she also planned to light more streets, install CCTV cameras in strategic locations and crime-prone areas, and ask for more police visibility on the town’s streets.
She said that as the daughter of outgoing town Mayor Adelino Sitoy, she planned to continue her father’s anti-crime drives, including a strict monitoring of persons involved in cyberpornography.