DUMAGUETE CITY — The city police is seeking a positive response from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) to the resolution of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) calling for the creation of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
The proposal is aimed at providing lawmen increased capability in addressing man-made threats to lives and properties in this growing capital of Negros Oriental, said Superintendent Jonathan Pineda, Dumaguete City police chief.
He informed the City Police Advisory Council (CPAC) in Tuesday’s meeting that city council Resolution No. 138, series of 2018, was submitted to the provincial police office and to the Philippine National Police national headquarters for the creation of the SWAT team to be exclusively assigned here.
Pineda expects “the assignment of at least 16 PNP personnel to compose the SWAT team for Dumaguete” as the budgetary requirements for an additional vehicle for the city police had been approved by the peace and order council.
The city council resolution states that the increased human activity and population of the city has also drawn to it more risks for human conflict and criminality. The city is wary of the threat of terrorism, which creates an acutely keen awareness among the populace especially because of the presence of armed insurgents in the island of Negros and its proximity and accessibility to Mindanao, it added.
Also discussed in the same CPAC meeting was the proposal of Supt. Pineda to cluster the barangays, where one mobile patrol and crew are assigned for faster response in cases of emergencies.
The whole of Dumaguete is clustered into five sectors. Sector 1 comprises the barangays of Candau-ay, Camanjac, Batinguel, Motong, and parts of Taclobo. The 05 Mitsubishi Strada is assigned in this sector.
Sector 2 will be assigned the Hilux 516 patrol vehicle to respond to calls for emergencies coming from barangays Taclobo, Pulantubig, Bunao, Daro, Bantayan, Piapi, Looc and Poblacion Barangays 5, 6 and 7.
Sector 3 covers the areas of Bagacay, Banilad, Mangnao, Calindagan, Tabuctubig and Poblacion 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 with the Mahindra 016 vehicle.
Sector 4 will be assigned the Mitsubishi Strada 02 patrol vehicle to assist residents of Bajumpandan, Cantil-e and Babajuba while Sector 5 comprises the barangays of Cadawinonan, Talay, Junob, and Balugo with the 01 Mitsubishi Strada vehicle.
All the mobile patrol vehicles will be manned by two PNP personnel with one Police Auxiliary Unit (PAU), while the villages concerned are encouraged to contribute to the manpower of the vehicles because they are supposed to know more their respective barangays in terms of their constituents and where to find what, the police chief said. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
