CEBU CITY, Philippines - Four city-owned vehicles, which come from various departments of the city government, were turned over to the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) on Tuesday.Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said he wanted to give the police brand new vehicles if not for the problems encountered with the City Council. The lack of budget, he explained, will not be a hindrance to his objective in helping the police. “I cannot afford to compromise the peace and order of the city with the lack of service vehicles,” Cortes told reporters in a press conference after the turnover ceremony at the City Hall. Cortes also said he planned to continue the construction of the Looc High-rise Housing project. With the four additional Toyota Revo assigned previously to various department heads of the city government, the police received a total of six vehicles, including a Toyota Hi-Ace van and a Multicab. Cortes also provided 12 motorcycles to the police last February. “I asked the department heads to make a sacrifice,” Cortes said adding that the heads can now avail of their Representation And Travel Allowance in going about their daily activities. Grateful police Senior Superintendent Rodel Calungsud, MCPO director, said he was grateful for the support of the city government. He said the vehicles will be assigned to the headquarters’ patrol group. Before handing the vehicles over to the police, the city government purchased the blinkers and had them painted with the necessary police markings. Last year, the City Council wanted to continue renting police vehicles from RDAK Transport Corp. which cost around P675,000 for three months. Cortes said, however, that purchasing new vehicles would be cheaper. In the meantime, Cortes announced that the construction of the Looc High-rise Housing project would be continued after works on the project have been interrupted last year. He said Tuesday that since the project had already been started, it was only logical to continue it. “A P100-million grant from the national government is very hard to find for a local government unit, so we will continue the project,” he said. The funding from the National Housing Authority (NHA) will only be released upon completion of the documents needed and as works on the project progresses. The mayor said that as soon as the corrective documents are ready, the city will now ask for the release of the entire 30 percent of the budget to mobilize the contractor, Ferrac Builders Inc. As of now, only 15 percent were released due to lack of supporting papers, said Cortes. Corrections and documents currently processed are the road right-of-way, the plans for a waste water treatment facility, a feasibility study, social acceptability study, and other procedural flaws. The Looc Housing Project was proposed and initiated during the term of former mayor Thadeo Ouano. /Reporter Dale G. Israel | 
