CEBU CITY – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will soon create a neighborhood watch in the city’s barangays after he was stripped of his police supervision.
Osmeña, who arrived from his medical checkup in the United States Sunday morning, has said the creation of a neighborhood watch will begin in the areas with a high concentration of call center agents and then expand it from there.
“Just because I don’t have a police I can work with doesn’t mean I can’t fulfill my duties,” said Osmeña.
In a resolution last week, the National Police Commission (Napolcom) said the duties, obligations, powers and prerogatives vested unto Osmeña as Napolcom deputy are removed or revoked.
Osmeña has since stopped giving allowances and rewards to the city’s police officers especially to those who are newly-assigned in their area.
Also cut was the supply of gas to police service vehicles while 15 patrol cars and three vans that were supposedly requested by the city police chief were denied.
Osmeña said the city will recruit retired tanods, policemen, soldiers, private citizens, any able bodied person willing to volunteer.
“I will ask help from the private sector to donate things like snacks and coffee, maybe even bicycles if we can find someone so generous,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said he will meet with business process outsourcing (BPO) management and ask them to map out where their agents live as well as reach out to their employees to get their primary, specific concerns regarding safety.
“This will be good for both our citizens and the economy because many people are unwilling to take on a call center job because of safety concerns. By making it safer, more people will have the opportunity to earn more,” Osmeña said. (Mars W. Mosqueda, Jr.)