‘Unified force to stop crimes‘

Cluster the 27 Mandaue barangays and set up a unified force of barangay tanods and police to secure these areas.

Mandaue City Investigation and Detection Management Branch Chief Michael Bastes gave this suggestion as way to prevent crimes especially burglaries in the city.

Chief Inspector Bastes said the unified group would patrol  the areas assigned to them.

He said that barangay tanods would be part of the unified force because they would be more familiar with their respective areas compared to the policemen.

Tanods would be a big help in knowing the people living in their areas as they go on foot patrol every night, said Bastes.

“Kaning mga tanod gamit kaayo ni sa mga police kay sila man gud una makabalo kung unsa mahitabo sa ilahang lugar (The barangay tanods are useful to the police because they’re the ones who know what’s happening in their barangays),” Bastes said.

Bastes made the suggestion after police recorded at least 10 burglaries in the city since the start of the month.

downplayed

Senior Supt. Petronelli Baldebrin, city director of Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), however, downplayed the burglaries saying crimes against property would usually increase as the city in a progressive city.

Baldebrin said police solved some of the burglaries with the arrest last Jan. 10 of the two burglary suspects identified as Ronnel Barbon and Jomar Bardago.

A .38 caliber revolver with six bullets were seized from Barbon while a .357 revolver with five bullets were also confiscated from Bardago.

Some stolen items were later recovered following the arrest of the two suspects and police still has on going operation in locating the cohorts of arrested suspects.

“The burglary suspects are local boys from different places in Metro Cebu,” Baldebrin said.

vigilance

James Abadia, Mandaue City administrator, advised the public to be more vigilant and immediately report to police suspicious people in their neighborhood.

Abadia also called on the police to increase their intelligence gathering activities to prevent these kind of crimes.

He said vigilance would be one measure to prevent these crimes./Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos