DAGUPAN’S budget for 2011, which had been reduced by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) by P81 million, kept the budget for the city police intact as proposed.

This clarification was made by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the SP, and Councilor Luis Samson Jr., chairman of the SP committee on peace and order SP, in reaction to a statement by Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr., the city police chief, was earlier quoted on television as having said that the police will have to reduce its number of patrols due to the slashed budget.

Fernandez said the police chief obviously did not study the approved budget because if he did he would have seen that the proposed budget P2.6 million for the police was retained.

FROM THE CITY HALL

Later, the vice mayor told the media that Caramat admitted that he had not seen the budget and made the statement based on information provided him by the office of the city mayor.

The Philippine National Police is one of the 12 national government agencies stationed in Dagupan being given financial support yearly by the city government to boost their effectiveness in the city.

Fernandez stressed that the SP did not cut the budget of any of the 12 government agencies getting financial aid from Dagupan.

The budget for the city’s anti-illegal drugs campaign was also kept intact, according to Samson.

Samson has advised the police chief to withdraw his earlier statement and issue a clarification as news of reduced police patrols might encourage criminal elements to intensify their activities in the city.

Fernandez and Samson also revealed that on top of the P2.6 million allotted by the city to the police, the Department of Interior and Local Government under Secretary Jesse Robredo has also promised a monthly subsidy of P132,000 for police operations.–LM

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