Rama to Replace Cops who Fail to Curb Increasing Crime Rate

Mayor Michael Rama vowed to replace police officials assigned in Cebu City who fail to curb the rising criminal activities in their respective areas.

The mayor was unhappy when he learned that crime volumes in the city during the first quarter of this year increased compared to the figures in the same period in 2013.

It was Rama who strongly recommended Senior Superintendent Noli Romana to become the director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) to head the 1,000 police force in the city.

Senior Superintendent Rey Lyndon Lawas, head of the PNP Regional Investigation and Detection Management, said Romana should act against the high crime rate.

Lawas said they have observed that there was a sudden increase of crime volumes in Cebu City by 22 percent during the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

The crimes against property, like robberies and thefts and crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, rape and others has dramatically increased.

Carnapping also increased by 52 percent this year alone with motorcycle theft as the most reported form of carnapping.

GMA-7 radio reporter Allan Mahait lost his motorcycle while it was parked in front of Mayor Rama’s office.

Rama said the warning goes out to all members of CCPO, particularly to the station chiefs. Romana had already announced that he may initiate a revamp of his station commanders by pulling out those who are lax in their job.

The mayor urged the police officers to work hard because the city has been supporting CCPO, even increasing the policemen’s allowances and continued providing them vehicles and fuel, including other means of support.

The mayor is against to the suggestion to suspend the City Hall’s monthly allowances to policemen who are not doing well, saying ” I don’t want to be removing the allowance because that’s not the solution. Who are you hurting if you remove the allowance? It is the families.”