PNP 8 fields Santa Cops this Christmas season

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 20, 2005

TACLOBAN CITY  – The Region 8 Philippine National Police headed by General Eliseo dela Paz will dispatch Santa Cops to help the shoppers and the public from people who will take advantage of the busy holiday season to do unscrupulous activities.

In an interview at the PIA 8 Panindugan TV talk show, Major Guillermo Melo representing Gen. dela Paz, informed the public that there are two types of Santa Cops who will be fielded in the various malls and places where there are many people. The first type is the cop who is wearing the upper part of Santa gear, without firearm and the other one is the cop who will wear the usual PNP uniform, with the usual firearm but will wear Santa’s cap.

Santa Cops will be there to help and protect the shopping public, Major Melo revealed. Anyone who is in need of police assistance may approach the Santa cop, he added.

Major Melo disclosed that the Philippine National Police Region 8 has already sent a circular to all the provincial and municipal PNP Stations to enforce the law on firecrackers. He said that there are only certain firecrackers which are allowed to be sold to the public.

He clarified, however, that only dealers who have been granted permits from the PNP Central office in Camp Crame will be allowed to sell firecrackers to the public. In the region, Major Melo, he knows only three in Tacloban and one in Catarman who applied for and have been granted permit to sell firecrackers.

More policemen will be dispatched to monitor the firecrackers being sold in the region, Major Melo said. Those who are selling without permit will have their wares confiscated during the first offense and succeeding offenses will have a bigger penalty of P20,000.00 to P30,000.00 or even imprisonment, Major Melo added.

Major Melo assured PIA 8 and the public that the PNP in the region is policing its own ranks especially in the firing of guns during the New Year. He said that no policeman is allowed to fire their guns during the New Year except when really needed. He however said that the firing incidents which victimized civilians were not really done by the police but by some civilians. Civilians who have been granted license to carry arms have already been notified that they are not suppose to fire their arms during the New Year, Major Melo added.

The Philippine National Police in the region is also coordinating with the Department of Health in the campaign for safe celebration of the coming New Year, Major Melo concluded.