Traumatized cops in Yolanda-hit areas to be deployed to Cebu, NCR

Several policemen stationed in Yolanda-hit provinces will be temporarily pulled out from their areas of command and deployed to other cities to help them recover from the trauma they experienced during the storm, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Wednesday.

A “Balitanghali” report quoted PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac as saying that policemen discovered to be suffering from trauma will be transferred in the coming days to either Cebu or Metro Manila, depending on their superiors’ evaluation. He added that security forces in Leyte and the rest of Visayas region will be augmented by the arrival of policemen from other regions.



Sindac, however, did not say how many policemen will be pulled out from the typhoon-stricken areas.

According to a Philippine Information Agency report, a total of 1,283 policemen from Metro Manila and Region IV have been sent to Leyte following the typhoon to augment government forces there.

Aside from assisting government personnel and aid workers in the distribution of relief goods, the policemens have also been conducting checkpoints and providing security for vital installations and business establishments.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, meanwhile, said it has deployed more than 12,000 soldiers to Yolanda-stricken areas to maintain peace and order.

The PNP has earlier ordered the relief of Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria as Eastern Visayas police chief supposedly to help him overcome the stress he experienced during the disaster.

Police officials have denied reports saying Soria was sacked  from his post for telling journalists that the death toll from super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) could reach 10,000, a figure refuted by President Benigno Aquino III. — Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News