City to form bomb squad next year

The Cebu City government will establish a bomb squad next year, as the city has allocated P15 million for the purchase of various police equipment and motor vehicles.

Mayor’s Executive Assistant Arnel Tancinco, head of the peace and order program, said the P15 million under this year’s budget will be used next year.

“The mayor wants to create a bomb squad for the city. We don’t have a bomb squad. We only have SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics),” he told the members of the City Council during the public hearing last Wednesday.

Tancinco said the city will purchase various police equipment worth P5 million and two vehicles amounting P10 million for the bomb squad by the end of the year, so that the bomb squad will start operating early next year.

He said a training will be conducted for the bomb disposal team, who would come from the Cebu City Police Office and the city is planning to procure equipment for them.

Under the proposed P6.29 billion Annual Budget for 2018, the peace and order program is pushing for a P138.9-million allocation.

Tancinco said the only new item for next year’s budget is the proposed P7million worth of purchase of 1,900 fire extinguishers to be distributed to the different sitios and chapels in the 80 barangays of the city.

“The mayor wants to distribute fire extinguishers to all barangays in the city. It will be given to sitios or chapels that are designated by the local fire department,” he said.

He added one fire extinguisher costs P3,500 and will last for three years, if properly maintained.

Under the proposed budget of the peace and order program, the city will also spend P1 million for the rehabilitation of the youth offender center.

There is also a proposed P5 million for the antidrug program; P4 million for the drug testing and other activities; P1 million for confidential expenses; P250,000 for Oplan Pakigsandurot, among others.

Tancinco said the city will also re-evaluate the transfer of its Command Control Center (C3) from Barangay Mambaling to the City Hall’s ninth floor.

This was after they received complaints that the C3 in Barangay Mambaling is no longer professionallooking as before.

Tancinco said the city will be improving the services at the C3 for better delivery of basic services.