‘Intensify war on crime’

The Lapu-Lapu City Police and barangay officials need to work better together to fight crime.

“I call the attention of the police force and barangay officials to bring this (crime) volume down by half in the next six months,”  Lapu-Lapu City  Mayor Paz Radaza in her first State of the City Address (Soca).

Wearing  a violet Filipiniana attire, Radaza presented data showing a 24  -percent increase in incidents of robbery and not more than 3-percent drop in theft, carnapping, homicide and physical injuries  in the city since last year.

Radaza’s Soca in the City’s Hoops Dome lasted  49 minutes and was punctuated by applause done 47 times by a crowd of  7,000.

Radaza pointed out that her administration created a Unified Task Force (UTF) of barangay tanods trained to conduct patrols and assist police in  operations, and the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT).

She said the city under her leadership gave policemen  additional firearms and vehicles. She thanked the Philippine Air Force for helping the police.

Their Special Tactics and Weapons (Swat) is also the most equipped and highly trained in the region and has a new assault van, she said.

Radaza said she was “blessed to have inherited a fast-growing economy, a highly urbanized city and a lone congressional district” from her husband former mayor now  Rep. Arturo Radaza.

She said since last year, “income from local sources—without the Internal Revenue Allotment —saw a big jump of 23.4 percent. Business taxes alone rose by 35.7 percent.”

She cited “a dramatic rise” of 153.7 percent in real property transfer tax.

She said towing, setting aside of tricycle lanes and paving of roads will soon be implemented.

Radaza said she also promoted the Clean and Green program of Lapu-Lapu City.

“From an average volume of 60 tons of garbage per day, the MRF (materials recovery facility)  managed to bring it down to 10 tons a day,” she said.

“We used the biodegradable waste as fertilizer for plants in the city. The nonbiodegradable waste was recycled into  hollow blocks for the city’s construction projects.”

She said 250 former scavengers now work for minimum wage in the city’s MRF, while city  students help  implement environment laws  in homes and neighborhoods.

The city with the support of the City Council approved 40  infrastructure projects worth P134 million and completed 25.

Radaza also cited achievements in nutrition, education, livelihood relocation of squatters, tourism and youth development. /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos