Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) chief, Col. Royina Garma. (Photo by John Rey Saavedra)
CEBU CITY – The chief of the local police here on Thursday appealed to the public to stop giving negative interpretation of checkpoints being conducted on the streets and, instead, cooperate with the police to avoid inconvenience.
Col. Royina Garma, Cebu City police chief , said they plan to setup more checkpoints to ensure a peaceful mid-term elections on Monday.
“Habang papalapit ang election, mas marami pa kaming checkpoints at mas intense pa (As the election approaches, we are setting up more checkpoints which are more intense one),” Garma said in a radio interview, clarifying that their activities in relation to the polls on Monday are sanctioned and supervised by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
However, Garma urged Cebuanos to “stop making an issue and interpret negatively the presence of the police in all areas” that have checkpoints.
Garma also appealed to politicians to stop putting color on them and creating an impression that they have become political, adding that rather than criticizing the police, they “better look around and see the safe environment in surroundings.”
She said persons flagged down at checkpoints should cooperate with authorities to avoid the delay in their travel.
“Kapag nakakita sila ng checkpoint, huminto nalang at mag-cooperate so that yung nakasunod sa kanila di pud ma-delay (If you encounter a checkpoint, just stop and cooperate so that the motorists next to you would not be delayed),” she said.
“Just don’t bring firearms and deadly weapons, and while driving, bring the necessary documents such as vehicle registration and driver’s license,” she said in Cebuano.
She said the lack of support, criticism, and accusations from the local chief executive have been a great challenge to the local police.
“Any activities that we have initiated we were able to get support from the police advisory council, the PNP (Philippine National Police) organization, and the Office of the President,” she noted.
She, however, said “it is better if they get good coordination with the local government unit (LGU)”.
The police will nevertheless remain professional in spite of the lack of support from the LGU, she said.
Garma, meanwhile, urged those who were subjected to “Oplan Katok” to cooperate with the police knocking at their doors to ask for documents of their firearms.
She said the Firearms and Explosives Division in Camp Crame furnished every police unit a list of persons who fail to renew registration of their firearms.
Police stations are required to report to the PNP national headquarters the result of implementation of the “Oplan Katok,” she said.
To avoid being inconvenienced with this PNP program against loose and unregistered firearms, Garma said firearm holders should renew their license to own and possess firearms and registration of their guns on time. (PNA)
