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(A feature on the police-civilian cooperation in maintaining peace and order of Ubay, Bohol)
By Angeline Valencia

Aimless scythes and limbless cows formed shadows marring the innocence of green grass and tall trees on the mountains of Ubay.

      The police blotter contained all the stains- -theft, robbery, hold-up, cows’ limbs cut, daughters raped, women battered.

      Idleness, poverty and ignorance obviously stirred the criminals’ pulses.

      But the mouths were mum, the eyes were shut. The ears heard no evil.

      Blurred leads led to limbo.

      Criminals enjoyed anonymity as they lurked without masks in scattered corners of 44 barangays, as if it was normal and natural, leaving law enforcers groping for a grip on the bushes.

      They’re all sepia now, images starting to blur when Col. Eduardo Saavedra traces the labyrinth and digs the pit, with his 1,000 volunteers composing the Community Information Access (CIA).

      Lawlessness had almost wrapped the town completely when Colonel Eduardo Saavedra assumed as chief of police in Ubay in May 2006.

      With the analysis that the people’s lack of interest to get involved kept the bad guys off the hook, Saavedra formed the CIA, his pet project.

      With just a year and four months in service as police chief, Colonel Saavedra made it sure to establish rapport with the community to get the people’s cooperation in preventing and solving crimes.

      CIA volunteers serve as advance forces of the Police in the far-flung barangays and get involved hands-on- -keep criminals from fleeing, settle conflicts between neighbors and couples, reinforce the barangay tanods and police visibility.

      They started with just 43 members last year, and had expanded to 1,000 members now having chapters in all the 44 barangays with five as the least number of members per barangay and 20 as the most.

      With this, crime rate in the municipality has significantly decreased since the deployment of CIA volunteers.

      This only shows that the civilian component of the town’s thrust on peace and order is working, according to Saavedra.

      For the accomplishments, the police chief exerts efforts to popularize the CIA concept for other towns to replicate and for the provincial, regional and national police commands to recognize.

      In recognition to the contribution of the civilian volunteers to the town’s peace and order, the Ubay Police Station slated significant civic-action activities to highlight the first year anniversary of the Community Information Access (CIA) on September 5.

      Saavedra, CIA president Wilfredo Sumalinog and the rest of the officers- -Union barangay captain Alfredo Avila (PRO), Evangeline Henson (secretary), Nestor Boncales (treasurer), Leonilo Eslaba (PRO and chairman of the blood-letting committee) and Alvin Monson (PRO) led CIA volunteers in the tree-planting, clean-up drive and blood-letting activities on Wednesday last week.

      Some CIA members planted around 400 Mangium seedlings at the bank of the UWASCO dam in barangay Calanggaman, while the others conducted a clean-up drive at the market area.

      And, at least 22 of them donated blood during the blood-letting activity conducted by a team from the Philippine National Red Cross led by Dr. Estrella Lim with blood bank staff Raul Cataño, Medical Technologist Nenen Diez and a detailed staff,Erlinda Lim.

      The blood-letting activity was part of the PNRC’s mass blood donation program.


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