MAASIN CITY (PIA) -- Police officers assigned at the field, either at the station or at assistance desks on site, are discouraged to keep on fixing their eyes at their cellular phones, instead, they should man their posts at all times.

“They are not assigned there to while away time with their phones but to watch the people, to be always on alert,” said Police Lt. Col. Ariel Nuñez.

To prove his point, Nuñez, head of the Provincial Investigation Detection and Management Unit (PIDMU) of the Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office (SLPPO), cited the recent incident of a police officer who was snatched a service firearm while on field assignment.

A scuffle followed, a shot accidentally fired, and the police officer was slightly hit by the temple, but luckily the suspect was caught, Nuñez shared during the Kapihan sa PIA on Wednesday, November 15.

Messages by text or messenger chat can be read at any time, but keeping an eye on occasions with huge crowds is not one of those times, Nuñez emphasized.

“During the past BSKE and UNDAS where officers were deployed in schools, in cemeteries, I suddenly appeared during inspection rounds and caught some of my fellows off guard busy with their phones,” Nuñez said.

“I just reminded them that they are put their to keep watch and always be ready for any eventualities, because reading messages in cellphones can be done at any other time,” he added.  (GTT/MMP/PIA Southern Leyte)