‘Deal with streetkids’

Take the initiative in keeping street children away from vices and  illegal activities, esepcially those sniffing rugby and solvents, a police official said.

This was the advice of Senior Supt. Petronelli Baldebrin to the six station commanders in Mandaue City in dealing with street children.

The new  director of the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) said street children should be given diversion programs so that they can engage in more wholesome activities.

Though handling street children is not the main job of the police, Baldebrin said law enforcers should get involved because these children in conflict with the law get involved in snatching and  other petty crimes.

“The youth will always be the future of our country,” Baldebrin said, adding that the police also have a role in guiding the street children on the right path.

Baldebrin asked  station commanders to follow the example of Chief Insp. Michael Bastes, who has taken street children under his wing by engaging them in physical exerciseand sometimes sponsoring their meals.

Bastes, chief of MCPO’s Investigation and Detection Management Branch (IDMB), gave a talk to  station commanders about his program which he started when he was chief of the Fuente Osmena station in Cebu City.

After reports surfaced that Mandaue street children were sniffing chemical solvents, he invited them  join to the police in physical exercises and jogging. Bastes also brought the kids to Mass, movie viewing  and conducted a feeding program for them./CORRESPONDENT JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS