Better safe than sorry – Davide

Gov. Hilario Davide III

Despite the inconvenience brought by the shutting down of cellphone signals during the last two major events held in Cebu, it is still always better to be safe than sorry.

This was the sentiment expressed by Governor Hilario Davide III when asked if he was in favor of resorting to future signal shutdown when it comes to upcoming major public events despite its mixed reviews from the public.

“It’s always good to be vigilant, watchful ta ba,” he said.

According to Davide, no matter how remote the possibility of an attack might be, temporary inconvenience like signal shutdown in order to intercept any perceived threats can make a world of difference.

Davide said that resorting to signal shutdown does not necessarily mean that the law enforcement agencies are remiss in their job of securing an area, considering the technology being used now in order to carry out attacks.

However, taking into consideration how other places had also been affected by the signal shutdown despite their areas not being part of the immediate vicinity where the events were being held, Davide said that the Philippine National Police, the National Telecommunications Commission, and the different telcos should look into it in order to minimize the possibility of similar situations happening in case of future signal shutdown.

“Maybe ang sa signal lang gyud, ang mga telcos pud ba. NTC, telcos, and mga police also, sabot-sabotan nila asa gyud ba para dili ma-affected ang uban (Maybe NTC, the telcos and the police can agree on the specific areas so that other parts far from the area to be secured will not get affected),” he said.

With terrorist and bomb threats always a security concern in any public events, Davide said that the authorities and officials should always make sure that security is well kept as one will never know when terrorists decide to strike.