THE Task Force Oro will be tapped to train and oversee the proposed Special Cafgu (Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit) Auxiliary Army of Cagayan de Oro City Hall to augment the city’s anti-terror campaign, the task force chief said.
“(Per our meetings), the city will pay for the allowances of the volunteers while the military (through Task Force Oro) will provide the command and control,” said Lt. Col. Zaldy Marzan of the Fourth Infantry Division (4ID), who heads Task Force Oro during last Friday afternoon’s security council meeting.
Task Force Oro was set up by the 4ID in 2017 to augment its anti-terror campaign in the city.
Marzan’s statement came days before Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy urged the 20th City Council anew to support his administration’s efforts to augment the city’s security forces.
“I ask the 20th City Council to give due support to my proposals for the creation of the Oro police auxiliary force and special Cafgu auxiliary army,” Mayor Uy said in his 100-day report last Monday.
In previous statements, Uy said the Oro police auxiliary force will consist of job order employees who will be trained, supervised, and assigned by the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office in their various precincts in the city’s 80 barangays. Task Force Oro was set up months after the Davao City bombing on Sept. 3, 2016, that claimed 14 lives.
Councilor Romeo Calizo, who chairs the 20th City Council’s public order and safety committee, cited the Davao City bombing to emphasize the necessity for the city to bolster its anti-terror efforts.
“We don’t know the minds of those who seek to sow terror and violence…so we should be proactive and prepare contingencies (to deal with these threats),” he said.
On behalf of Mayor Uy who attended the turnover of housing units to 43 former rebels, Vice Mayor Jocelyn ‘Bebot’ Rodriguez presided over the security council meeting and voiced her support for both the Oro auxiliary police force and special Cafgu auxiliary army.
But both Rodriguez and Councilor Calizo said the details for the creation of the two groups still have to be finalized.
“You have to follow it up with the mayor…but I think it’s a very good program,” Vice Mayor Rodriguez said while Marzan replied that the special Cafgu program is a long-term initiative.
“By creating this unit to protect the city, the city government will have a sense of ownership (and responsibility for ensuring its success),” Marzan said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
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