Tamayo’s directive: Rush compliance with requirements for issuance of commitment order

Camp Sotero Cabahug that is located along Gorordo Avenue is home to the Cebu City Police Office. /  CCPO Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Arrested individuals should not be allowed to stay at the detention facilities of the different police stations in Cebu City for more than a day.

Police Colonel Cydric Earl Tamayo, officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Police Office, said that their arresting officers should immediately comply with requirements for the filing of cases and the issuance of a commitment order to facilitate their transfer to the city jail in Barangay Kalunasan.

“We rush up all the requests so they will be committed to the [city] jail, which has facilities for both [those] who will test positive and those who will test negative [of COVID-19],” said Tamayo.

Tamayo said this was one way of protecting policemen assigned at the 11 police stations in Cebu City against the spread of the coronavirus disease.

The Pardo Police Station was placed under lockdown for about a month after its personnel tested positive for the infection.

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Learning from the experience, Tamayo has directed personnel of the city’s different police stations to find means to avoid getting the infection that was already seen to hamper police operation.

One way of doing so is by facilitating the immediate transfer of arrested individuals to the city jail to decongestion detention facilities and ensure the observance of social distancing protocols.

This can be done by preparing the documentary requirements for the issuance of a commitment order that will include the PDLs medical certificate.

As of Friday, June 12, 2020, 40 policemen remained isolated at the recovery center of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7)  that is located in the mountain barangay of Taptap while 21 others have already recovered from their infection. / dcb