The city government of Marikina on Thursday donated two motorboats to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) as part of the launch of the Marikina River Patrol to ensure the safety and security of residents.

Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said the joint project of the city government and NCRPO is part of Marikina’s disaster preparedness.

“These will also serve as rescue boats kung may kalamidad. Part din ng disaster preparedness, ginagamit din natin silang training units sa search and rescue. Itong dalawang ito ay maaring simula pa lamang (These will also serve as rescue boats in the event of a disaster. Also part of disaster preparedness, we also use them as search and rescue training units. These two may be just the beginning),” Teodoro said during the launch held at the Marikina Roman Garden.

Marcelino was joined at the launch by NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., and Marikina City police chief, Col. Benliner Capili.

He added that the PNP and the city government’s Marikina Rescue 161 have been conducting interoperability training.

During the launching, aside from the two motorboats, well-meaning private individuals donated three all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to the NCRPO that will be used in roving around the Marikina River Park.

Teodoro said that it is important to make sure that the Marikina River Park area is safe to the public, especially this holiday season when many people visit the 11-kilometer stretch of the river park amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Dahil sa requirement ngayon sa mobility at ng strict restrictions on the venue limitation na mayroon tayo under Alert Level 2, mayroong mga tao ang gumagamit ngayon ng ating river park area. Kaya napakahalaga na gawin natin itong ligtas para sa kanila (Due to today’s mobility requirement and the strict restrictions on the venue limitation that we have under Alert Level 2, there are people now using our river park area. So it is very important that we make it safe for them),” Teodoro said.

“Kaya maliban doon sa mga nagpapatrol sa parke ay nagdagdag tayo at naisipan natin i-collaborate with the PNP on this program of making our river park a safer place (So apart from those who patrol the park we added and we thought of collaborating with the PNP on this program of making our river park a safer place),” he added.

Teodoro bared that he is eyeing to establish a headquarters for the river patrol along the 11-kilometer stretch of the Marikina River Area.

For his part, Danao expressed his utmost gratitude to the city government and to well-meaning individuals who supported the Marikina River Patrol project.

“Kami ay lubos na nagpapasalamat (we are very thankful), on behalf of the Philippine National Police Team NCRPO, Team Eastern Police District, for having this kind of patrol boats which could be of big help especially for the community of Marikina,” he said during his speech.

Danao said the donations would be a big help in patrolling the riverbanks in Marikina and saving lives, especially if there are calamities.

“With these patrol boats that we have, it will save more lives and more properties in the future kasi napakalaking bagay nito. Words are not enough to really express how grateful we are for these contributions which will be of big help lalong-lalo na sa pagsasalba hindi lang ng buhay ng ating mga kapulisan, but for the whole community as well (because it’s a huge thing. Words are not enough to really express how grateful we are for these contributions which will be of big help especially in saving not only the lives of our police officers, but for the whole community as well),” Danao stressed. (PNA)