■ CCPO CHIEF ASKS VILLAGE CHIEFS TO PASS ORDINANCES THAT WILL CURB CRIME

Senior Supt. Royina Garma, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, asked barangay captains to pass ordinances that will regulate motorcycle parking and “pisonet” (coin-operated computers). “Motorcycle drivers parking in one area for one hour or two hours is a suspicious activity,” she said. She also requested barangay captains to regulate eateries that are open late at night. The police official said the purpose of passing the barangay laws is to help the police in curbing crimes, including the illegal drug trade. The ordinances, she said, will discourage residents from going out late at night. “They were very responsive and they already have plans,” Garma said in Tagalog. The meeting took place at the CCPO headquarters last Tuesday afternoon and attended by the barangay captain of Ermita, Pasil, Suba, Pahina-Central, Basak-Pardo, Mambaling, Day-as, Sambag 1, Sambag 2, Quiot, Buhisan, Sawang Calero, Duljo-Fatima, Basak San Nicolas and Kinasang-an. A lawyer, who is also a barangay captain, volunteered to help draft the ordinances. The barangay officials told Garma that the ordinances’ passage will take around three months as these will undergo stages of legal process, including a public hearing. “I told them it’s okay, but I cannot wait,” Garma said. “I told them you have to do something while waiting for the ordinance.” That “something,” she said, is to help CCPO operatives conduct drug busts and other anti-criminality operations.