Malabon police HQ in a sorry state

The newly installed chief of the Malabon police has sought the help of the local government in renovating the city’s police headquarters.

Senior Supt. Severino Abad said that the sad condition of the Malabon police headquarters, which looks like an old house compared to the modern 11-story city hall right in front of it, was the first thing he noticed when he started for work on Friday.

“It’s not what you expect of a standard police building, especially for a city,” Abad told the Inquirer. “You might say that, among the police stations in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area, it seems as if this is the only one that has been left behind.”

He added: “We will make a recommendation to our local chief executive and maybe he can help us.”

For his part, Bong Padua, chief of the Public Information Office at city hall, said the city government was aware of the situation.

“This has been a longstanding concern of the local police. But it should not be said that nothing has been done. We’ve been trying to find a piece of property for the police headquarters which is strategically placed and where they can easily move in and out. But it’s been difficult,” Padua said.

The Malabon police headquarters, located on Rizal Avenue together with the Malabon Fire Department, was built a long time ago and sits on a lot owned by the San Bartolome Parish, according to Padua.

“They just rent the land from the parish and they cannot modify the structures there because of that, save for a few repairs here and there. The police headquarters is really in a sorry state,” Padua admitted.