BAGUIO CITY – The members of the Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) warned personnel of the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD) to be circumspect in their actions while in the performance of their assigned duties and responsibilities to prevent misconceptions on the part of the public regarding their behaviour.
The warning to the POSD personnel was issued by the BCMA members after the committee dismissed the various charges filed against them by concerned night market vendors due to lack of evidence and the withdrawal of the complainants on the cases filed against them.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, who also chairs the BCMA, recognized the efforts of the POSD personnel assigned in the night market in sustaining the maintenance of peace and order during the conduct of the nightly activity amidst the heavy influx of residents and visitors patronizing the city’s night market.
Earlier, concerned individuals filed complaints against some POSD personnel in charge of securing the night market operations for their alleged involvement in extortion activities, drunkenness, abuses among others that disrupt the operation of the night market.
However, the team leader of the POSD personnel vehemently denied the allegations of the complainants against those responsible in maintaining peace and order in the night market area, saying that the complaints were just a product of the divisions in the night market and the vested interests of some night market vendors and leaders wanting to allegedly lord it over the night market operations.
Domogan urged the POSD personnel to be circumspect in their actions in the performance of their assigned duties and responsibilities and for them to observe maximum tolerance in dealing with conflicts involving night market vendors and the personnel looking after the law and order along the night market area.
The BCMA admitted the POSD personnel deployed to handle the peace and order situation in the night market area is not sufficient that is why there are police personnel who are also deployed in strategic areas along the stretch of Harrison Road where the night market is being done to guarantee orderliness every night and so far the combined efforts of the POSD and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) have contributed in sustaining law and order in the night market.
The BCMA called on complainants against erring POSD personnel to substantiate their complaints with the necessary pieces of evidence and for them to pursue the cases that they have filed because it would warrant the dismissal of the concerned POSD personnel or the non-renewal of their contracts once they have been found to have committed the complained violations.
Domogan also appealed to the night market vendors to cooperate with the stringent rules and regulations being implemented by the POSD and police personnel along the stretch of Harrison road to prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that will pose a serious threat to the safety of life and limb which could eventually result to the eventual stoppage of the night market activity once there will be compelling reasons that will guide decision-makers to decide whether the safety of the people is compromised with the sustained conduct of the night market. /By Dexter A. See
