MAYOR, SP SAY
Escalante withdrawing
all police force support
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Escalante Sangguniang Panlungsod passed three resolutions yesterday afternoon withdrawing all of the city government’s support to the Philippine National Police, including the use of its building that currently houses the police station.

Councilor Santiago Maravilla said the relief of 12 policemen from their town by Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Western Visayas police regional director, without consulting Mayor Melecio Yap, was a big insult to the local officials.

The Escalante SP, in its regular session yesterday, passed the three resolutions – the first of which is to withdraw and stop any and all forms of support to the PNP by the city government, Maravilla said.

The Philippine National Police will abide with whatever the decisions of Mayor Melecio Yap and the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Escalante are, including the order for them to vacate the city police headquarters, Senior Supt. Allan Guisihan, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, said yesterday.

Guisihan, who admitted that the building was donated by the city government to house the Escalante police, said they will transfer to another  location, or may rent a private building, near the soon-vacated police headquarters.

He, however, assured the residents of Escalante that the basic police service being rendered to them will remain “as is”, although he admitted that the development has caused demoralization among the local police force.

Negros Occidental and Region VI will have a big budget allocation in 2012 for the fast implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program concentrating on the land distribution, Sec. Virgilio de los Reyes of the Department of Agrarian Reform, said yesterday.

De los Reyes was in Brgy. Tabugon, Kabankalan City, to witness the oath-taking of 448 agrarian reform beneficiaries before Judge Cyclamen Gayatao, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Kabankalan.       

De los Reyes said they will start in Kabankalan City the programs of President Benigno Aquino III pertaining to the creation and organization of CARP beneficiaries and will give farm implements and inputs from the DAR and Department of Agriculture.