Don’t be surprised if you see fewer police cars roaming the streets of Cebu City and fewer night patrols.

This is an offshoot of the cost-cutting measures by the police after the Cebu City government decided to cut fuel allocations by 25 percent due to spiraling oil prices, an official said.

The 25 percent fuel reduction also applies to fire trucks, garbage trucks, ambulances and service vehicles of the mayor, vice mayor and city councilors.

Also affected are vehicles of the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management (Citom).

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña issued a memorandum on June 6 announcing that fuel allocations would be slashed by 25 percent effective immediately across the board a cost-cutting measure.

The mayor said he was willing to give exemptions for valid reasons. He suggested turning off car air-conditioners to save on gas.

Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., City Council committee chairman on public order and safety, has asked the mayor to exempt vehicles assigned to the police, Citom, ambulances and the fire department.

“These vehicles are used for emergencies and the fuel reduction might hamper the effectiveness of their operations,” Pe said.

He warned there would be fewer patrols in the city streets, which might lead to an increase in crime.

“In this case, the police cars will have to park in one area and respond only when there is an gas alarm (in order to save on gas),” he told .

He said the fuel allocation for 70 police vehicles would last until June 20. If his request for exemption is not approved, the city would have a big problem, he said.

But Pe said he was optimistic the mayor would approve his request for exemption, which he submitted on Monday.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., CCPO director, said the Mobile Patrol Group is prepared to adjust as the Mobile Patrol Group would be affected by the fuel cut.

They have reduced the frequency of night patrols. MPG policemen park their vehicles in strategic areas and wait for an alarm.

“They respond to alarms if there are calls from the base control),” Comendador said.

Some alarms will be referred to the nearest police station.

The police chief said he anticipated a slash in the fuel budget when oil prices shot up.

Each patrol car consumes 800 liters of fuel a month. Most of the fuel, about 600 liters, is supplied by the city government. Comendador said they were working to reduce this to 500 liters of fuel monthly.

Chief Insp. Arnel Banzon, MPG chief, said that starting last month, his policemen were ordered to turn off the air-conditioning units of their vehicles to save gas.

Banzon said that if they run out of gasoline, they would borrow available units from other police stations.

In the case of the Cebu City Fire Department, a fuel cut means fewer occasions to lend the fire trucks for fire drills because Co Detector priority would be given to actual emergencies.

Cebu City Fire Chief Ishmael Codilla said the organizer, who invites the fire department, will be asked to pay the cost of fuel .

The Cebu City government allocates P58 million a year for the fuel for city vehicles.

With the constant price increases in petroleum, the volume of fuel alloted is not enough.

A city official who is issued a vehicle is given a requisition and issue voucher (RIV), which indicates the monthly fuel allocation and consumption.

The RIV is presented to the gas depot operated by the city government at the North Reclamation Area. The depot personnel will record on the RIV how many liters of fuel have been drawn .

The city buys gasoline by bulk from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and diesel from Pilipinas Total Gas Inc.

According to Ester Cubero, acting chief of the General Services Office (GSO), from January to June this year, the prices of diesel went up by 31 percent price and 26 percent for unleaded gasoline.

In January, diesel cost P36.34 per liter but the price increased to P47.96 per liter this month or a hike of P11.62 per liter.

The price of gasoline went up by P11.25 per liter. Gasoline now costs P53.92 from P42.67 in January.

City Administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez said nobody opposed the fuel cut when the policy was announced to city councilors and department heads.

The 25-percent cut would mean a monthly savings of P2 million for the city, he said.

Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz, chairman of the budget and finance committee, said this was necessary because the fuel budget was based on last year'sfuel prices.

Daluz, however, said he believes the Alcohol Tester fuel cut doesn’t have to affect public services. With a monthly fuel allocation of 450 liters for his vehicle, Daluz said he only consumes about 300 liters.

Other officials who exceed their monthly limit pay for the excess fuel used.

Cubero said they would have to strictly monitor trips made by government vehicles to ensure that these were all official in nature and keep an eye on how much city offcials tank up.

Citom personnel are required to check the trip tickets of every government vehicle.