Metro cops on alert for Earth Hour

MANILA, Philippines - The police in Metro Manila will be on alert on Saturday for the Earth Hour 2009 event when many parts of Metro Manila will plunge into darkness for an hour. Director Leopoldo Bataoil, National Capital Region Police Office chief, said Friday he has ordered the deployment of police officers to key areas to prevent criminals from taking advantage of the one-hour-lights-out collective action to fight global warming. “As most parts of Metro Manila are engulfed by darkness, some lawless elements might take advantage of the situation by perpetrating their criminal activities or do acts that would disturb the peace in our communities," Bataoil said in a statement. He said he has ordered his officers “to deploy all duty personnel in Metro Manila at 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to go out of their offices to ensure that the noble intentions of this significant event will not be taken advantaged by lawless elements." On Earth Hour, mobile police patrol units will be deployed to beef up foot patrol officers and provide quick response in case of trouble, he said. He said police blinkers would be switched on and sirens would be sounded “occasionally to make police presence felt and known." Other police teams would go around communities to coordinate with barangay officials and community leaders to ensure the security in their localities, he added. “During the one-hour darkness that will ensue, our mobile patrols shall be the beacon of safety and security that every citizen could rely on in times of need," Bataoil said. - GMANews.TV