Basic Need:  Peace and Order and Rule of Law 

   Relentless campaigns against all forms of lawlessness and gritty enforcement of the rule of law by concerned authorities helped preserve order and social stability in the region. A significant factor was the support generated from the communities. With the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Office 5 at the helm of peacekeeping efforts, the crime volume was reduced as indicated by the following statistics:   

Illegal Drugs. There were 244 drug violators apprehended of which 124 were pushers and 120 were users. A total of 129 grams of shabu and 2,021 grams of marijuana worth PhP693,710 were confiscated and 143 cases were filed in court. A big bust was scored with the discovery of an abandoned clandestine drug laboratory at sitio Badi, Barangay Bingasbasan, Garchitorena, Camarines Sur by combined military elements. Various shabu processing chemicals, instruments and paraphernalia were recovered.

 

Kidnap for Ransom (KFR). Unlike in 2006 wherein one case was reported in the province of Masbate, preventive operations this year successfully achieved a KFR-Free Bicol Region.

 

Street Crimes. Of the 126 street crimes reported, 125 were solved attaining a 99.21 percent Street Crime Solution Efficiency (SCSE) rating. This is higher than the 98.90 percent SCSE posted in 2006.

 

Carnapping. Anti-carnapping operations minimized the number of reported lost vehicles from 20 in 2006 to only 4 this year. Three suspects were arrested and six vehicles (including those reported in previous years) were recovered. One case was filed in court.

 

Bank Robbery. No bank robbery groups were monitored in Bicol as sustained preventive operations effectively maintained zero incidence of bank robbery/hold-up in the region since 2006.                     

 

Hijacking/Highway Robbery. Traffic Control Points and Police Assistance Centers established at strategic locations effectively prevented criminal elements from perpetrating robbery, hold-up and other atrocities along the major thoroughfares of Bicol. Implemented through Project Tinampo and Project Biyahero, this strategy totally deterred hijacking and highway robberies along the Maharlika Highway.

 

Illegal Gambling. Crackdown against illegal gambling activities resulted in the apprehension of 371 persons and confiscation of PhP148,302 bet money. 52 cases were filed in court.

 

Illegal Logging. Initiated in cooperation with the DENR and PCA, the campaign against illegal loggers resulted in the apprehension of 53 violators and confiscation of 60,740 board feet equivalent of various kinds and sizes of lumber. 

 

Illegal Fishing. Implemented pursuant to RA 8550, the campaign netted 454 fishermen-violators and confiscated two fishing vessels, 28 fishing boats, 5 motorboats, 5 bancas and 1,099 kilos of illegally caught assorted fish. A total of 21 cases were filed in court.

 

Loose Firearms. Enforcers of PD 1866 (amended by RA 8294) confiscated 197 firearms (66 high-powered and 131 low-powered) and arrested 155 violators of whom 99 cases were filed in court.

 

Arrest of Wanted Persons. Resolute operations of Manhunt Bravo led to the capture of Four Most Wanted Persons in the Bicol Region whose head prizes ranged from PhP140,000 to PhP350,000. Another 670 wanted criminals without head prizes were accounted for during the period.

 

Syndicated Crime Groups. 20 groups engaged in organized crimes such as robbery/hold-ups, drug pushing, swindling, cattle rustling and theft in various parts of the region were identified and neutralized. Of these, 17 were tagged as newly identified groups.

 

Crime Solution Efficiency. Crime Solution Efficiency increased by 0.67 percent. Of the 2,009 reported crime incidents 1,770 cases were solved posting an 88.10 percent solution efficiency as compared to the 87.73 percent rating attained last year.

   Sustaining Community Relations

   Operation “Sarong Banwa”, an initiative of the PNP 5, continued to generate community partnerships and united fronts for the promotion of peace and order.  Its focus included involvement in school-based projects and church-based activities with the youth, family organizations and the elderly group as its staunch supporters. 

   School-based projects included the conduct of dialogues and symposia among the students and school administrators. Family and community-based projects dubbed as Project BARYA (Barangay Yaman) conducted innovative measures to stop the patronage of illegal gambling activities. Its activities included conduct of seminar/workshops, awareness and networking linkages and distribution of coin banks.  

   Councils of Community Elders remained active across Bicol's six provinces. They acted as the focal points and links of the community in supporting local police initiatives. Organized at various levels, there were a total of 6 provincial, 114 municipal and 86 barangay Councils of Community Elders in the region.

   Supportive to crime prevention activities, the PNP 5 organized the PNP Force Multipliers which was comprised of 5,951 barangay tanods, 5,371 security guards and 6,793 anti-crime groups.

   TXT 2920 was activated and this took over most of the complaints and requests for police assistance.  A total of 57 text complaints were logged in and promptly given appropriate police action.

   Internal Reforms

   Honesty Teams were created to weed out erring PNP personnel engaged in extortion, mulcting, bribery and other forms of illegal activities. COMPLAN Pitagan, a police counterintelligence project, aimed at safeguarding the PNP’s interest from unscrupulous personnel resulted into the identification of 30 PNP members involved in various illegal activities. 

   The general improvement in crime situation reflected the effectiveness of the policing system which was boosted by the cooperation and active support of the community. The PNP attributed this achievement to the significant headways it gained in the implementation of its action programs and of its PNP Transformation Plan.

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