Rugby sniffing rampant in Sooc—Peñaredondo
Iloilo City -- The use of rugby is rampant among the youth of Brgy. Sooc, Arevalo. This was disclosed by City Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo even as he called for a stricter police monitoring of the area.
Peñaredondo made the disclosure in last Wednesday’s regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod where the same barangay asked for the approval of two proposed barangay ordinances.
The proposed ordinances were: an ordinance implementing liquor ban in the barangay every Saturday during benefit dance and ordinance imposing automatic closure of videoke-sing-along operating in the barangay after 10:00 pm.
Peñaredondo observed, there is no order in Brgy. Sooc particularly when there is a benefit dance in the area. The drunkards would throw bottles on the streets, he said.
His statement was based on his personal experience. He owns property in the said barangay.
Sooc is one of the relocation sites in the city. It is home to hundreds of informal settlers coming from the different parts of the city.
In an interview, Peñaredondo also lamented the confusion brought about by the erroneous declaration of Sooc as part of Arevalo.
The far distance of the barangay from the police precinct hampers the conduct of police operation in the area, he said.
In previous years, former Councilor Rolando Dabao moved for the inclusion of Sooc as part of Arevalo. Dabao, who is from Arevalo district made such action before he ran for a congressional post against former Representative Raul Gonzalez, now acting secretary of Department of Justice. It was Dabao’s political strategy to win the votes of the electorates but he still lost to Gonzalez.
The declaration made Sooc as part of Arevalo and not of Mandurriao. By political boundaries, Sooc is part of Arevalo but it is part of Mandurriao when measured by proximity of the area, Peñaredondo said.
The area of jurisdiction automatically went to Arevalo police precinct.
Peñaredondo said there is a “poor policing system” in the area because of the distance. Responding police unit from Arevalo will travel from Arevalo to Molo before they reach Barangay Sooc.
Peñaredondo urged his colleagues in the city council to rectify the error.
Peñaredondo said he has already told Sooc Barangay Capt. Manuel Villavicencio to take action on the problem since it involves peace and order of the barangay.