Celso reaffirms support for local Maritime Police
PNP Chief Jesus Versoza together with Mayor Celso Lobregat turns over the symbolic key to the newly constructed boat house to 9th Maritime Mobile Group Cheif C/Supt. Villamor Bungalag. Looking on are Rear Admiral Alex Pama and WESTMINCOM Chief MGEN. Ben Dolorfino. (JOEY BAUTISTA)
Mayor Celso Lobregat has reaffirmed his support for the 9th Maritime Mobile Group following the blessing and inauguration yesterday of its new boat house at the seaside of the Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College in Baliwasan, this city.
“Rest assured, for as long as I am the mayor, the city government’s assistance and support to peace and order and public safety shall remain steadfast and will ever be growing,” Mayor Lobregat said during the inauguration of the maritime boat house with Director General Jesus Ame Verzosa, chief of the Philippine National Police, as guest of honor and speaker.
Lobregat said the maritime boat house is truly a symbol of the enduring friendship, partnership and commitment of the PNP and the city government towards the attainment of the common goal of environmental protection, preservation, conservation and maritime security not only in Zamboanga City but in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula.
He said the site, where the maritime boat house now stands, was for many, many years occupied by illegal structures and it took a lot of political will to clear it up, a situation similar with those in Paniran port area and the CDCP, which is now a park. It was a mess that posed environmental and security problems.
“We told the ZCSPC that we will use (this) area, but the problem there was no road right-of-way so we asked the school’s permission for a passage,” the mayor explained, adding that the city government will soon lay concrete on the road leading to the boat house. The amount of P2 million has been earmarked for the road and site development of the area.
For his part, General Verzosa acknowledged with gratitude all the support that city government has been extending to the police even as he also commended Lobregat, the 9th MMG under Chief Supt. Villamor Bumanglag and the police regional office under Chief Supt. Angelo Sungalo for jointly undertaking the boat house construction.
Verzosa said the 9th MMG boat house is the third in the country and the PNP under his leadership will soon be putting up similar facility in some other areas of the archipelago as he underscored that the maritime police really need a boat house in their effort to protect the shorelines from security and environmental threats.
With the global warming now affecting the country, Gen. Verzosa said the PNP and all its branches of service are called upon to respond to calamity victims just as what the police did in the recent typhoons that struck Metro Manila and Luzon areas.
Verzosa together with other top PNP officials in the country are in the city until today for several other activities that included cleanup on R.T. Lim Boulevard, a command conference and a torch run in line with the PNP Transformation Program.
Also present during the program was Cong. Beng Climaco. (Vic Larato)