Caloocan mayor eyes relocation of police HQ after fire

Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan is in favor of relocating the headquarters of the local police, whose old two-story building suffered major damage in a fire on Tuesday.

In an interview, Malapitan said it was no longer possible to rebuild or renovate the old building on Samson Road, Barangay Sangandaan, where about half of the office space was razed to the ground.

“Right now, we have P14 million in funds courtesy of the Philippine National Police. But that’s barely enough (for) a headquarters with several offices,’’ Malapitan said on Wednesday.

A new home for the city’s 1,200-member police force can be built on a government-owned land in northern Caloocan, he said.

The mayor also disclosed that the land on which the old headquarters was built was being claimed by the Philippine National Railways. Meanwhile, the mayor said he would allow some of the affected police offices to be temporarily housed in a building in Grace Park. —Krixia Subingsubing