ELOISA GALANG
It was a show of force, simple yet definitive!
That was an apt description of what transpired during the summit held by the Regional Peace and Order Council at the Holiday Inn, Clarkfield on 09 February capped by the signing of a covenant of local officials, RPOC members, Regional Management Coordinating Committee (RMCC) members, civil society organizations, the business sector, the academe and other stakeholders.
Pampanga Governor Lilia G. Pineda who hosted the summit expressed elation over the one hundred percent attendance of the governors, local executives, heads of agencies and other stakeholders even as she enjoined them to “win the peace” towards making Central Luzon the next center of progress in the country.
She said the covenant is proof that it is shared belief among the signatories that “through partnership with the public and private sectors, we are definite that our utmost desire to achieve peace, order and security in Region 3 will be within our reach”.
The summit presented an overall view of the peace and order situation in the region through reports by the heads of agencies involved in fighting crime and other threats to security.
PCSupt. Alan LM Purisima reported that the latest figures recorded the total crime volume in the region at 57,081 with Pampanga getting its share at 4,918. He stressed that the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 has intensified law enforcement activities to control crime incidence via such strategies as the no plate, no travel policy; capability upgrades of both equipment, resources and training of personnel; designation of motorcycle zones; proper illumination in dark and crime-prone areas; and massive information campaign through the media, streamers and billboards, and stickers with PNP phone hotlines on vehicles.
Purisima also reported that some 756 checkpoints have been established in the region, 80 of them in Pampanga. He added that particular provinces have come up with their own local strategies to fight crime such as the public safety zones in Cabanatuan City; no helmet, no ride in Bulacan and Project Kabisig of Olongapo City.
The official from the Land Transportation Office shared that Pampanga, as directed by the governor, has started personal visits to second-hand car dealers as part of their monitoring efforts.
The PRO 3, Purisima said, also conducts “Paglilibot”, a weekly review and assessment of the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS) and the performance of provincial, city and municipal police offices. The PNP as well as the local executives spoke of the advantages of putting up CCTV cameras in strategic places provincewide as a deterrent to crime.
