BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan warned ambulant vendors who continue to defy the city’s anti-peddling policy and are now going to the extent of threatening personnel of the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD) by throwing a grenade at them that the city government will further highten its campaign to rid the city’s sidewalks from illegal peddlers without fear or favour.
The local chief executive strongly condemned the grenade throwing incident at some POSD personnel Wednesday morning, saying that those who were involved in the incident are those who refuse to cooperate with the city’s zero obstruction policy and citywide anti-peddling operations which gained the support of the people.
“We will go after the person who threw a grenade at our POSD personnel and we will make sure that he will fac3e the consequences of his illegal actions,” Domogan stressed.
Domogan lauded the POSD personnel for being brave enough in continuously pursuing and implementing their mandate to clear the city’s sidewalks from obstructions amidst obvious threats in their lives, saying that they should not succumb to the ‘dirty tricks’ being employed by those who refuse to cooperate with the city’s anti-peddling policy.
According to him, the recent grenade throwing incident only shows that there are some vendors who continue to defy lawful orders but POSD should not be intimidated or harassed by such actions and instead intensify their clearing activities to send a message to hard headed vendors that the city means business in its anti-peddling campaign for the benefit of the greater majority of the populace.
It can be recalled that a number of POSD personnel on board their official vehicle were conducting routine clearing operations in the market when a still unidenfied individual hurled a wrapped item into their vehicle which prompted one of the enforcers to open the same.
Upon removing the socks that covered the item, the enforcer was surprised to see the NK2 fragmentation grenade which he immediately turned over to responding law enforcers.
However, elements of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) explosives and ordinance division (EOD) ruled that the grenade could no longer explode and was subjected to the appropriate disposition of the said office.
Probers are now conducting a followup investigation on the grenade throwing incident in order to pinpoint the individual responsible for the incident so that he will face the proper charges to be filed against him.
Policarpio Cambod, POSD chief, also condemned the cowardly act of the concerned individual who threw the grenade to his personnel who simply enforcing lawful orders against the proliferation of sidewalk vendors in the different parts of the city market, saying that they will continue the investigation in order to ascertain the identity of the one who threw the grenade at his men so that he will be imposed the necessary punishment against them.
He appealed to vendors within the city market and those occupying the city’s streets to cooperate with the zero obstruction policy of the city in order to ensure that the sidewalks will be free from unscrupulous and uncooperative vendors for the use of the general public.
Cambod warned vendors that the grenade throwing incident will not affect them in implementing their duties to clear the sidewalks of the city. By Dexter A. See
