The Manila city government and the local police call them their new network of “spies.”
Some 3,000 residents have been tapped to “serve as eyes and ears of the Manila Police District (MPD)” and report criminal activity in the city’s 896 barangays.
MPD director Rolando Nana on Saturday said the “volunteers,” a mix of men and women, including young adults, had undergone training conducted by the six district station commanders on intelligence gathering and crime reporting.
Nana said these “Lambat-Sibat” volunteers will be working pro bono in line with the crime prevention efforts of the Philippine National Police.
They will be issued IDs by the MPD and will form a network separate from the barangay tanod or village watchmen, he added.
In a statement, Mayor Joseph Estrada said the volunteers need only send text messages to the MPD, through its station commanders, to report suspicious persons or activities in their respective communities.
Estrada presided over the volunteers’ oath-taking at City Hall on Thursday. Annelle Tayao-Juego