‘Cocpo doesn’t have enough guns’

By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent

Acting-City Police Director Senior Supt. Robert Roy Bahian disclosed that the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) does not have enough long and high-powered firearms they can use during its police operations.

Bahian said there are no available long firearms that were set as standby firepower units for Cocpo during his invitation at the city council regular session on Monday.

“I am afraid na may mangyayari nga ang mga perpetrators are using long firearms. Police and military were trained to respond with superiority of force and firearms. Hindi dapat ka mag-operate kung wala ka ng ganun,” he said.

Bahian added that the Cocpo’s 10 police stations located in 10 major barangays including Cogon and Carmen Market Police Stations are not “conducive” for serving the people in the city.

He said the supposed Cocpo headquarters’ four-storey building that was reportedly finished constructed near Xavier University sometime in 2015 were found to have defective doors and door jams and lacks electric connections from the main lines distributed by the Cagayan de Oro Electric Power and Light Company.

“Police stations now (are) dilapidated and no longer conducive for work. I present this to city council baka mahanapan ng tulong,” he said.

Bahian said the mobility of Cocpo is also compromised because of the 10 police stations in the city only stations 4, 9, and 10 have “good and running condition patrol cars.”

“I suggest dahil congested na ang traffic sa Cagayan de Oro pwede ang ibigay sa amin are all motorcycles because this is the easiest vehicle na pwede natin magamit kung merong police alarm or emergency,” he said.

Still on Cocpo’s mobility, Bahian said the city government only issues 40 liters of fuel for its patrol cars in every two days of police operations.

For her part, City Councilor Edna Dahino said the concerns Bahian brought to the council should be addressed immediately.

“Kung duna kita’y emergency situations labi na sa police stations sa Cogon and Carmen dili kita basta-basta nga makasaka kay tua man sa taas. We will have to ask the executive body to immediately act (on) this problem,” she said.

Dahino, who chairs the Committee on Finance and Appropriations, said she already approved the budget for Cocpo’s operation during budget deliberations in the city.

“We have to make sure that (the) approved budget (will) go to Cocpo para makatabang usab sa siyudad and maintain peace and order in the city. We need to be assertive in requesting to the office of the Mayor’s Office,” she said.