Telco donates reflectorized vests to Baguio City police

THE BAGUIO City Police Office got a boost in their task of maintaining a safe, secure and peaceful city from a telecommunication company.

BCPO-Tourist Police Unit (BCPO-TPU) Acting Chief Police Senior Inspector Annie Carmel C. Comising recently received 320 reflective vests from Smart Communications represented by External Affairs Head Wo Rosete in a simple ceremony at the BCPOTPU office at the Burnham Park.

Comising said the reflectorized vest will be very useful for police officers on patrol duty to be easily identified in the public areas even during the night.

“Mas secure yunig pakiramdam ng mga tao, ng mga turista pag may nakikita silang mga nakadeploy na pulis sa mga tourist spots or place of convergence”, she said.

Aside from the tourist police unit, some of the vests will also be given to the different police stations which slhall be used by police officers when conducting mobile patrol in the barangays and communities in the city.

In his message, Rosete said the donation of reflectorized vests is part of the company's support to the local police of Baguio City particularly to the tourist police in time for the Panagbenga festivities. He added this is part of their support to the police officers in maintaining a safe, secure and peaceful summer capital.

Aside from the reflective vests, Smart is also engaging the local police to use various social media platforms such as text and internet connectivity for the PNP’s ‘Text Bato’ hotline service of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Text Bato is the 24/7 hotline project of the PNP’s Community Relations Group that allows ordinary citizens to report crime incidents and law enforcement concerns directly to Chief PNP Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.

Smart subscribers can text relevant police concerns by typing BATO (space) their message then send to 74442286.

Once these reports reach the hotline, the Text Bato platform will shoot a confirmation to the sender with ‘PNPBATO’ as the unique sender name. The PNP will then verify these reports to determine the appropriate course of action.

Rosete assured that the “telco will be committed to help the PNP in making its services widely accessible to the general public.”