ILOILO City – As the Oct. 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) draw closer, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), focusing on crime control, is intensifying the campaign against loose firearms and fugitives.
Deploying more police personnel to the field and carrying out more police operations against fugitives and unlicensed firearms are two of the many ways of controlling crimes, said PRO-6 director Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor.
The PRO-6 director has started imposing the 15-85 scheme by relieving cops from the regional office and deploying them in the field for more police visibility.
Under the scheme, 15 percent of police personnel will be on duty at the headquarters to do administrative functions while 85 percent will be in the field for more focused police operations, crime prevention through patrolling and police visibility.
The PRO-6 also continues to monitor the movements of groups who have the potential to be used as goons of politicians.
Earlier, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. reminded police regional directors across the country to focus on crime control.
Acorda said that from Jan. 1 this year, police operations resulted in the recovery, surrender, and confiscation of 10,971 firearms and the arrest of 3,425 individuals.
He added that various PNP units also received 6,221 firearms for safekeeping since the first month of the year.
The PNP chief also said that to complement the PNP’s gun control measure as a preventive action against crime, the force likewise arrested 27,948 wanted individuals and “accepted the surrender of 153 other wanted persons over the same 4-month period.”
Further, Acorda disclosed that during the same duration, “the PNP neutralized 187 criminal gangs with the arrest of 854 and surrender of 86 gang members and the confiscation of 126 firearms” from the gangs./PN
