Sleep-deprived mayor cracks down on karaoke

THERE’S a time for singing and a time for sleeping. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO “Garma said she’ll apply the ‘iron fist’ against criminality and drugs in Cebu City.”

Senior Supt. Royina Garma, the newly installed chief of the Cebu City Police Office, has gotten her marching order to crack down on noisy karaoke parties in the city.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña led the turnover to Garma of the top police post.

“I get many texts a day. And I can see the reluctance of the police to crack down on the noisy karaokes,” said Osmeña.

“I’m giving a warning to all the police in the different precincts. It’s personal because I get texts up to 4 a.m.,” added the mayor.

Osmeña warned all policemen who, he said have been reluctant to stop karaoke parties.

“I can’t even get enough proper sleep so one day I will blow up my top and I will cancel all your allowances just to be sure that (you know) I mean business,” the mayor said.

Garma vowed to implement all city ordinances, including those penalizing public disturbances. She said she will import to Cebu the “template” she had implemented as a police commander in Davao City.

“My template will be Davao’s. I’ve been a station commander there twice and the police system I have applied there was very effective,” she said.

“We will enforce all ordinances to make sure that the community will be peaceful, day and night,” she added as she vowed to make herself directly accessible to ordinary Cebuanos.

Garma said she is not intimidated to serve as the first woman chief of police in Cebu City, having been the former chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group(CIDG) in Central Visayas.

She said she’ll apply the “iron fist” against criminality and drugs in Cebu City while cleansing the police ranks of misfits.

Garma said she will introduce the electronic blotter system in Cebu whereby victims need not travel to far-off police stations in the city to report a crime.

Using this system, victims can flag down any mobile patrol cars to report a crime, she said.

Meanwhile, Garma’s predecessor, Senior Supt. Joel Doria, listed the following accomplishments in his two-year stint as police chief of Cebu City.

From July 2016 to June 2018, a total of P414 million worth of illegal drugs were seized, 4,400 raids were conducted and around 7,000 drug suspects arrested.

A total of 8,0663 cases were filed in connection to the anti-drug campaign under Doria.

The war against illegal gambling led by Doria conducted 1,645 operations, leading to the arrest of 3,181 individuals, and the filing of cases against 1,226 suspects. Some 1,570 moli-moli machines were confiscated.

Doria’s Oplan Pokemon resulted into the arrest of 4,856 persons, confiscation of 7,014 grams of shabu worth P78.2 million, seizure of 119 loose firearms,707 gambling machines and P425,363 in cash.