Tacloban city: The Police Regional Office (PRO) 8 in Eastern Visayas distributed 200 units of push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) radios to police stations across the region. PRO-8 Director Brig. Gen. Jay Cumigad highlighted that this initiative aims to improve communication among police units, facilitating more efficient information relay.
According to Philippines News Agency, the lack of communication equipment has been a significant barrier to timely police response. The turnover is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that all patrollers are fully equipped with necessary communication tools. Brig. Gen. Cumigad emphasized that this is a continuing procurement based on needs.
Earlier in April, PRO-8 had distributed a similar number of communication devices to aid personnel at checkpoints during the May 12 midterm elections. The recent distribution includes provincial police offices in Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, and Southern Leyte, as well as Ormoc City and Tacloban City police.
In addition to the PoC radios, PRO-8 also provided 30 body-worn camera batteries as backups for the equipment used by the police regional office's operating units.
