ORMOC CITY – To strengthen this city’s public safety and security, a PHP2.3-million brand new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) vehicle for the Ormoc City Police Office (OCPO) was turned over by this city’s local government unit on March 7, 2025.
The said turnover was led by Leyte 4th District Representative Richard I. Gomez and City Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez. Mayor Lucy highlighted the importance of peace and order as the foundation of community development. “There is no place for criminals in Ormoc City,” she said.
The said project was funded through the 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Incentive Fund; and the purpose of the SWAT vehicle is to greatly improve the OCPO’s operational effectiveness in facilitating emergency interventions, crime suppression efforts, and quick responses to high-risk scenarios.
A cash incentive known as the SGLG-IF, on the one hand, is provided to exceptional LGUs that have fulfilled the strict requirements of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), encouraging excellence in service delivery and governance.
Also present at the said turnover were Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 8 Assistant Regional Director Atty. Darwin Bibar, Ormoc City Councilors Burt Pades, Edmund Kierulf, Lalaine Marcos, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President Krizia Caessandra Mercadal, DILG-City Local Government Operations Officer (CLGOO) Jean Redi T. Briones, Police Lieutenant Colonel (PLt.Col.) Marvin Pedere, and LGU department heads. (By Gwen Maurillo / EV Mail March 3-9, 2025 issue)
