The Philippine
National Police Regional Office 5 (PRO 5) remained at the
forefront of the determined struggle against all forms of
lawlessness in the region. Towards maintaining a pre-emptive
anti-criminality approach, it effected the following
strategies:
-
implementation of a
campaign to prevent and suppress robbery/hold-up
incidents and to charge in court those identified
leaders, members and protectors of robbery/hold-up
gangs;
-
activation of the Regional
“Task Force Heinous Crime” to expedite the solution of
all sensational heinous crimes and neutralize their
perpetrators;
-
operationalization of a
dynamic campaign to account for all persons with
warrants of arrest;
-
implementation of the
Passcard Concept, a security measure for the prevention
of highway robbery and hijacking incidents along the
Andaya and Maharlika Highways;
-
continuing campaign
against the proliferation of loose firearms.
On the overall,
active anti-crime operations in the region helped reduce
their incidence as the PRO 5 statistics for CY 2006
indicate. Most noteworthy was the total stoppage of the
illegal numbers game popularly known as “jueteng”.
Illegal Drugs.
A total of 193 suspected drug personalities (120 pushers
and 73 users) were apprehended. Some 448.5913 grams of
shabu and 6,529 grams of marijuana worth PhP
1,060,416.93 were confiscated; 09 cases were filed in
court; 40 drug-affected barangays were cleared during
the period.
Kidnap-for-Ransom.
Only one incident of KFR in the province of Masbate was
reported. Generally, preventive operations by concerned
agencies helped deter its recurrence within the region.
Street Crimes. Of
the 2,028 crime incidents recorded, only 91 or 4.49
percent were considered as street crimes. Crime solution
efficiency was almost perfect with 98.90 percent
accomplishment.
Anti-Carnapping.
A total of 20 vehicles were reported lost during the
period. Sustained anti-carnapping operations resulted
into the arrest of 19 suspects and recovery of 21
vehicles (including those reported in previous years).
Six cases were filed in court.
Bank Robbery. Preventive
operations paid-off with zero bank-robbery incidence
recorded in 2006. Neither was there any occurrence of
bank hold-ups.
Hijacking /Highway
Robbery. No hijacking incident or highway
robbery was reported to have occurred along the major
thoroughfares of the Bicol Region during the period.
Traffic control points and police assistance centers
effectively monitored choke points for motor vehicles
utilized in illegal activities. Further, Project Tinampo
and Project Biyahero prevented criminal gangs from
operating along the Bicol side of the Maharlika Highway.
Arrest of Wanted
Persons. Police manhunt operations resulted into
the arrest of 92 most wanted persons (6 regional, 4
provincial and 82 city/municipal). Some 965 other
wanted persons were arrested.
Arrest of Wanted
Persons with Head Prizes. Vigorous
implementation of Manhunt Bravo paid-off with the arrest
of 8 most wanted persons in the Bicol Region with
monetary rewards ranging from PhP50,000 to PhP140,000.
Illegal Gambling. Crackdown
on illegal gambling activities resulted into the
apprehension of 228 persons and confiscation of bet
money amounting to PhP45,945.10. Sixteen cases were
filed in court.
Illegal Logging.
Anti illegal logging operations nabbed 28 violators and
confiscated 32,146 board feet of assorted lumber. All
violators and pieces of evidence were turned-over to the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for proper
disposition.
Illegal Fishing.
Continuous monitoring of illegal fishing activities
caught 566 violators and confiscated 53 fishing boats,
10 motor boats, 4 bancas, 3 compressors, and 1,152 kilos
of illegally caught fish worth PhP21,925,000. A total
of 22 cases were filed in court.
Loose Firearms.
Enforcers of PD 1866, which was amended by RA 8294,
confiscated 269 unlicensed firearms (142 high-powered
and 127 low-powered) and arrested 167 violators, of whom
58 were charged in court.
Crime Solution
efficiency for the period slightly decreased by 1.43
percent. Of the 2,028 documented incidents, 1,773 cases were
solved posting 87.43 percent solution efficiency as against
the previous year's 88.86 percent.
In terms of
unsolved cases, some 138 cases out of 330 on record at the
PRO 5 were considered solved based on the criteria in the
NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular 94-017. This surpassed the
41.82 percent target set by the higher headquarters.
To safeguard the
PNP's interest from unscrupulous personnel, Letter of
Instruction “iron Claw” was pursued through COMPLAN PITAGAN.
This resulted into the identification of 17 PNP members
involved in various illegal activities. Two of whom were
categorized in the target list and 15 were included in the
watch list.
Sustaining Community
Relations
Consistent with
the thrust of its National Headquarters toward establishing
effective community relations, the PRO 5 sustained the
implementation of Project Sarong Banwa. This consisted of
anti-crime organizational activities that were based at the
school and community levels.
School-based
projects consisted of dialogues, symposia and fora involving
students and school administrators. Family and
community-based projects, dubbed as Project BARYA (Barangay
Yaman), implemented innovative measures that drew attention
away from illegal gambling activities. These included
conduct of seminar/workshops, awareness and networking
linkages, distribution of coin banks and initiation of
dispersal projects.
Organized councils
of community elders in every barangay of the region
continued to serve as the focal points and links in the
maintenance of peace and order. During the period, councils
of community elders were active in 86 barangays.
“Task Force
Multipliers”, organized by the PRO 5 to support its internal
security operations, remained in place and continued to
beef-up police visibility and other crime prevention
activities. As of year end, these consisted of 5,027
barangay tanods, 3,897 security guards and 4,927 anti-crime
groups.
Taking advantage
of the ubiquitous cell phone users, PRO 5 provided prompt
police action through direct text to PNP 2920. For the
period, a total of 279 texts for assistance and complaints
were promptly given appropriate actions.
Patrol
117/PNP Text 2920. Operationalized since March
2003, Patrol 117 is a tie-up project among the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)
and the PNP together with the three major telephone
companies in Bicol, namely: Mayon Telephone Company,
Bayantel, and Digitel. The objective is to immediately act
on people’s complaints and requests for police assistance.
Lately, however, the activation of the Txt 2920 program of
the PNP National Headquarters has superceded Patrol 117. For
the period, a total of 279 text complaints were given
corresponding actions.
Congress on
Crime Prevention. As part of the celebration of the
National Crime Prevention Week, the DILG 5 through its RMCC
sponsored a Congress on Crime Prevention for Student
Leaders in the City of Legazpi. Some 200 high school and
college students from the various schools in Albay attended
the Congress. During the activity, seven members of the
Legazpi City Peace and Order Council were awarded plaques of
appreciation for their exemplary service in the maintenance
of peace and order.
Launching of
Junior Fire Marshalls. Following the issuance of
DILG Department memo signed by Undersecretary for Peace and
Order Marius Corpus, the Bureau of Fire (BFP) in cooperation
with the DILG V formally launched the DILG-BFP Junior/Kiddie
Fire Marshall in February 2006. The same memo made possible
the issuance of a DepEd Regional memorandum No. 19 s. 2006
re: The School Kiddie Junior Fire Marshall Project,
directing all schools division superintendent to organize a
school K/JFMs.
