Pasig police to deploy more men to patrol C-5 Road

THE PASIG City police promised it would beef up its forces on C-5 Road following the rise of crimes on that stretch, including the killing of a call center agent after he has robbed while he was on his way to work on Monday.

Senior Supt. Jessie Cardona, Pasig police chief, announced the move yesterday  after a regular command conference at the Eastern Police District office.

EPD director Chief Supt. Francisco Manalo also ordered all police chiefs to make sure their men patrol the streets during the night to protect those who work on the so-called  “graveyard” shift.

“I often make unannounced visits to see if policemen are not sleeping on the job. I would like the city police chiefs to do the same,” Manalo said.

Cardona, on the other hand, said members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team will now make the rounds on C-5 Road to  augment the number of roving policemen and Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives (Masco) in the area.

Cardona, however, declined to divulge the number of policemen who will be sent out on the streets. “Let’s not dwell on the number. I assure you the C-5 Road will be secure especially during the critical hours,” he said.

On Monday,  Gerald Changco, a call center agent of Sitel Philippines, was shot dead when he tried to run away from robbers along C-5 Road in Barangay Ugong.

The victim  was on his way to his 4 a.m. shift when he was attacked.

His relatives have appealed to the authorities to patrol the road which, according to them, turns into a dark and deserted spot at night.

Manalo said  the police should be ideally working in three shifts but because of the shortage of men on the force, they are forced to settled for two shifts, with each policeman on the job for 12 hours.

That was the reason why the police have been tapping civilian law enforcers or  “police multipliers” as a preventive measure against  street crimes, he added.