Tumulak says spate of killings ‘alarming;’ Tomas disagrees

Saying the same thing is also happening in big cities abroad, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña does not find the series of killings in the city alarming.

“It’s not alarming. It happens in New York, Los Angeles and England. I don’t know the circumstances, but I think these are isolated cases. We’ll just monitor the situation to see if there is a pattern,” he told reporters yesterday.

But Osmeña also said he wants to improve the mobility of the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Cebu City Police Office.

The mayor said he received requests for the procurement of SWAT vans, but he prefers patrol cars.

“I don’t really believe in a SWAT van. I believe in patrol cars. In the Los Angeles Police Department, their patrol cars have SWAT personnel. They are always moving,” he said.

“Like our garbage system, we will also lease police cars for 24 hours and we will not worry about the driver, the maintenance. I have gotten an estimate and it might cost P70,000 a month per car,” Osmeña added.

The plan to lease patrol cars, though, will have to wait for next year’s annual budget.

Osmeña said the SWAT team’s performance is above average, which he wants to improve through better mobility and training.

“They’re above average but we can always do better. We’re doing very well in our buy-bust operations. There are no complaints on human rights violations. As far as buy-bust is concerned, I think we’re the best,” he added.

But for Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters, the spate of killings in the city has reached an alarming state.

“Very alarming because every time our police has a successful drug operation, in a few hours, naa dayun mamatay. We’ve requested our police stations to continue with their foot patrol and police visibility in the barangays to prevent shooting incidents. This might be linked to drugs,” he said.

He also urged parents to keep an eye on their children’s activities after an 18-year-old college student was arrested for allegedly having P1 million worth of shabu.

Alarming because every time our police has a successful drug operation, in a few hours, naa dayun mamatay. COUNCILOR DAVE TUMULAK

Deputy mayor for police matters