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Manila Police chief cracks down on 'telebabad cops'


MANILA, Philippines - Aside from an ongoing campaign against "kotong cops," Manila's top cop has started cracking down on a new major headache: the "telebabad cop." Manila Police District (MPD) head Chief Supt. Roberto Rosales said he decided on the crackdown after getting high phone bills and complaints that callers could not get through. "Unang-una we issued a directive dapat ang telepono natin hindi ginagamit sa outgoing calls. Yun lang incoming calls ine-entertain dito (The first step I took was to issue a directive that phones in stations are not to be used for outgoing calls. The phones will be used only for incoming calls)," he said in an interview on dzRH radio Wednesday evening. Radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported Thursday morning that Rosales threatened to file administrative charges against police personnel caught chatting on the phone. Station commanders will be held responsible for the use of the phones in the station, Rosales added. Rosales said he particularly applied with telecom firms to make sure most of the phones in police stations are for incoming calls only. He also said he will personally check on the stations by making test calls, and radioing stations with busy lines to demand an explanation. On the other hand, he said the MPD's text lines remain open to those who want to lodge complaints, including the PNP text hotline 2920. Rosales said those who still could not get through can use his "personal" cell phone number at 0918-4072792. Meanwhile, Rosales said the MPD expects to complete before this yearend a closed-circuit television system (CCTV) to keep an eye on key areas in Manila. He said the MPD is also building its CCTV "nerve center" that will house 42-inch television monitors to display the situation in crime-prone areas. These include the university belt, big malls, sites of rallies and demonstrations, tourist spots, and nightspots. "Gagamitin natin ito (We're really going to use this technology)," he added. - GMANews.TV
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