Bacolod’s number one city councilor has declared that a concerted action of city government officials, the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), various sectors in the Peace and Order Council (POC), and the barangays including local anti-crime watch volunteers, are now needed to combat unabated petty and large-scale criminal activities in the city, as they now appear unstoppable. The proposal was aired by councilor El Cid Familiaran, chairman of the City Council’s Public Order and Security Committee, during an interview over DYRL’sTungkaron Ta Ini, program yesterday.
Familiaran’s proposal came in the wake of a crescendo of criticisms flooding media outlets coming from the public, and from the Metro-Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which practically represent the business community in the city. This also came with four members of the City Council, lawyer Archie Baribar, Em Ang, Al Victor Espino and Familiaran himself, coming out openly and expressing their concern about the crime situation in the city. Several veteran journalists have also opined, including those supportive of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, that something must now be done as criminals appear to have a run of the city, operating with impunity, committing petty and big crimes. The city government must now call a meeting of the Peace and Order Council (POC) and enlist active support and assistance in combating crimes which have reared its ugly head for months on end, now. It must be the executive calling the shots and it is his call, Familiaran said, saying the onus of responsibility lies on the shoulders of Leonardia who was away for about a month, first in Texas, where he was present during the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito fight. The councilor who got the biggest number of votes during the last May elections took exception to Bacolod Police Chief Senior Supt. Celestino Guara’s declaration that crime incidents in an urban center such as Bacolod is normal. He had added in a recent interview, that there was also somebody orchestrating the commission of crimes and who wants him removed from his post as police. However, they are protectors of people’s lives and properties and they must comply with this role, Familiaran said. One measure which the police has adopted is the establishment of the Bacolod City Anti-Crime Task Force (BCACTF), but which is hindered from doing its utmost because they lack gasoline for their operation, mainly monitoring suspicious characters on board motorcycles, too. A source also complained that the Bacolod Police is hardly mobile and therefore, has no visibility because the defective patrol cars it acquired years back are hardly serviceable, he said. By Edgar Cadagat Negros Daily Bulletin
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