Police authorities have re-imposed the curfew ordinance in Dumaguete

Police authorities have re-imposed the curfew ordinance in Dumaguete, rounding up minors found roaming the city streets after 10 o’clock in the evening unaccompanied by adults, in a bid to curb vagrancy and a perceived rise in street gang fighting.

Supt. Leopoldo Cabanag, city police chief, disclosed yesterday at a press briefing that the move comes in the heels of the murder of a member of the street gang, Bloods, who was gunned down last week in the city.

A suspect, believed to be the uncle of a member of the rival gang, Crips, was arrested later and charged in court last Saturday.

He said that since that shooting incident, and following discussions with provincial police director Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas on how to address the street gang problem, city police have been conducting nightly roving patrols in the city.

Cabanag said that at the start of the reimposition of the curfew, the police brought about 20 minors to the police station and kept them in a holding room until the following morning when they were released.

He assured that the rights of these children are not violated, explaining that they are just held under police custody for safekeeping during curfew hours.

The minors are usually released to their parents or immediately family members within the curfew period or, in the absence of the same, are allowed to go home the next day during safe hours, Cabanag said.*JFP