LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government and the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to pursue the expansion of the municipal police station building located near the municipal hall to cater to the increasing manpower and the services being provided by the local police force to help sustain the decent law and order in the locality.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda stated that the local government is simply waiting for the response of the provincial government to its earlier request to allow the use of a portion of the parking area of the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH), which is part of the property of the province, as the expansion area for the building of the municipal police station.
He informed PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar that the local government is simply awaiting the decision of the provincial government on the aforesaid request because part of the existing plans of the PNP is to put up standard buildings for police stations to establish an identity of the PNP stations.
The local chief executive claimed that the municipal government is requesting some 4,000 square meters from the provincial government property within the compound of the BeGH as the expansion area of the municipal police station.
According to him, the municipal government and the provincial government have an outstanding boundary dispute over their respective properties that are situated adjacent to each other, that is why part of the proposed solution is for the province to provide some portions of the BeGH property that will serve as an expansion area for the local police station.
Earlier, Eleazar announced that the government will be providing the PNP at least P130 billion to be spread out in 10 years to fund the construction of standard buildings for the different police stations as part of the ongoing reforms being introduced in the country’s police force to ensure the overall infrastructure development of the existing structures.
The La Trinidad Municipal Police Station building is one of the buildings being proposed for possible improvement and expansion, provided that there will be available space for the put up of the proposed extension of the said structure.
Salda expressed hope that the provincial government will agree to the proposal of the municipal government so that the proposed expansion of the La Trinidad Municipal Police Station will be realized the soonest because of the increasing human resources of the local police force aside from the need to further improve the delivery of services coupled with the need for more space to be able to comply with the prevailing implementation of the minimum public health standards specifically the observance of physical distancing among personnel and the transacting public.
He stipulated that it is high time that the existing building of the municipal police station will be improved and expanded to conform to the existing standards of police stations prescribed by the PNP. By HENT