The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday it was open to distributing confiscated sirens and blinkers to local government units (LGUs) to be used as local disaster warning systems.

“That’s okay, but LTO (Land Transportation Office) must approve it since it is the implementing agency,” said Director-General Jesus Verzosa, PNP Chief.

Verzosa said that such a move must be approved first by the LTO since the agency is deemed the owner of the confiscated sirens and blinkers based on the existing laws.

Earlier, Albay Governor Joey Salceda proposed the distribution of confiscated sirens at least in his province, to be used in their disaster warning system at the barangay level.

“We could utilize them to augment our warning communication systems in the 720 barangays of Albay... when an emergency is prompted say by their readings of community-based rain gauges. The province would also fit them with transceivers so we could centrally activate them remotely via radio frequency utilizing our recently-acquired modern communications equipment to transmit a general warning received from Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) or Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology),” said Salceda.

“These would be targeted to high-risk barangays to lahar, landslide and flashflood and would be interfaced with the existing community-based warning systems like rain gauges,” he added.

Albay, it was recalled, is usually being cited for its efficient disaster response, which was apparently perfected by its experiences not only from the onslaught of typhoons but also from the Mayon Volcano eruptions over the years.

For his part, Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, director of the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) explained that it is the LTO which has the final say on what to do with the confiscated sirens.

“The LTO is the main agency that is tasked to implement the laws on the illegal use of sirens and blinkers, the PNP is just assisting the LTO because we acknowledge their lack of personnel,” said Espina.

“The policy really is that whenever we confiscate sirens and blinkers, we turn them over to the LTO,” he added.

The PNP leadership has intensified the operation against the illegal use of sirens and blinkers after the abuses in the use of those gadgets was mentioned by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in his inaugural speech on June 30.

Based on the law, only ambulances, fire trucks and police and military vehicles which are being used for actual emergency situation or law enforcement operations are allowed to use sirens and blinkers.

The PNP leadership earlier issued a directive prohibiting PNP members escorting politicians and VIPs to use sirens and blinkers in compliance with Aquino’s directive.

Earlier, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Jesse Robredo expressed interest in localizing the disaster alert system, which he said, was proven effective when he was still the mayor of Naga City in Bicol which is a usual typhoon route.

Robredo said the move is to achieve zero-casualty whevener typhoons hit the country, what with the fact that a numer of people lose their lives in almost all weather disturbance that would hit the country, the latest was last week when typhoon "Basyang" killed more than 60 people.