Council, police settle issue on ‘illegal’ outpost (Sun.Star, Wednesday, November 07, 2007)

Council, police settle issue on ‘illegal’ outpost

By Ian Ocampo Flora

ANGELES CITY -- The issue over the much contested police station in Balibago has now been settled as the City Council here and the new city police director have resolved to demolish the outpost in place of a new and better situated outpost.

The problem of the police outpost stemmed when former Angeles City Police director Sonny Cunanan and Precinct 4 officials led by Superintendent Joselio Imperial and Senior Inspector Luisito Tan ignored the request of the council and the City Engineers Office to stop the construction of the outpost as it violated the National Building Code and it lacked of necessary permits.

Despite this, the construction of the outpost continued and is presently situated within spitting distance of the McArthur Highway in front of the Balibago Water District Office. This prompted the council to make a unanimous decision calling for the demolition of the structure.

In the City Council’s regular session on Tuesday that was attended by Cunanan, Tan and newly designated Angeles Police Chief George Gaddi, the police officials defended the erection of the structure as a matter of “peace and order need.”

Gaddie said the outpost is of critical importance as its area is reputed to be a “staging ground” for snatching and robbery.

Councilor Willie Rivera was quick to criticize the attendees for alleged “blatant disregard of civilian authority.” “It dismays us that the same people tasked to uphold the laws are the same ones that fail to adhere to it. Peace and order should not be taken as a license to violate the law and ignore the directive of duly elected officials,” he said.

Rivera gave the assurance that a much better police station would be constructed a few meters across the highway where the controversial outpost is located. “My client, Rammy Villavicencio will shoulder the cost of a new police station within the area of Flying V. The place is more appropriate and will not violate existing building laws,” he added.

Gaddi agreed with the councilor. “We will demolish the structure and we hope that the new outpost will start in its construction,” he said.

Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting assured Gaddi that the place will better serve the purpose of peace and order. “The place is situated along the area which congests traffic. With the outpost in the area, the police could easily look into the problem plus four major banks are also within the line of Flying V,” Cabigting said.

Rivera however was dismayed by what he called “an issue that could have been easily resolved.” “This issue should not have dragged this far. We were already coordinating with the police since the start but they still continued with the construction despite the disapproval of the council. They (police) should understand that civilian authority is always higher than that of the police.” he said.

The new police outpost is estimated to cost P100,000 to P200,000. Gaddi requested that the police would work on a time table on the matter.

When asked if he would ask for an apology from the Angeles City Police Office for ignoring their previous resolution, Rivera said the council would be appeased if the new city director would keep his promise.

“I believe that as an officer and a gentleman, the new city director would keep his promise with the city council,” Rivera added.