CITY OF SAN FERNANDO– The status of peace and order in the Province for 2013 were discussed in front of Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda in the command conference held Thursday in a restaurant in San Fernando City.
Last year had been very busy for the Provincial Police Office (PPO), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Regional branches and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Office depicted by their accomplishment report.
PPO Director P/Supt. Oscar Albayalde disclosed the rate of the crime cases, both index and non-index, on police records.
He reported the slight increase in crime volume with 2707 recorded crimes for 2013 as compared with 2539 record in 2012 as a result of the inclusion of deferred cases in the barangays all over the province.
His presentation also included rates traffic accidents, crime solution efficiency and recovery of illegally possessed firearms.
The Provincial Police Office, added Albayalde, is driven by the different advocacies which concern the intensification of police operations, investigations, disaster preparedness and the likes.
The PPO director also said that his department promises to take every challenge to ensure that Pampanga will be a safe place to live, work and do business in.
On the other hand, AFP Northern Command Officer Henry Sabarre has confirmed that the Province of Pampanga is insurgency free and ready for further development.
According to him, the aggressive military operations of the AFP have resulted to the deterioration and decline of strength of insurgency in the province.
Because of the Army’s focused force in Central Luzon, particularly in Pampanga, Guerilla operations and actions have been dismantled and dissolved, he pointed out.
Aside from this, barangays that served as the NPA group’s hiding area were cleared forcing the leaders of the provincial guerilla units of the communist group to surrender to the AFP together with their ammunitions.
Gen. Sabarre then recommended to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to formally declare Pampanga as “Peaceful and ready for further development”.
The reservation in declaring the province as so saying that the dealing with the insurgency problems will be turned over to the local government and that military forces will be pulled out was dismissed by the general and said the allegation is false.
He assured that the AFP will stay and be part of Pampanga’s development to maintain its peaceful environment.
The PDEA Central Luzon Director Jeoffrey Tacio proudly reported the results of their campaign against illegal drugs.
Some of these were the confiscation of 36 kilos of shabu and the nabbing of Chinese drug dealers in the province.
He said, the campaign against drug activities is very intricate, but with the cooperation of the different Local Government Units and the police, the cases of illegal drug activities in Pampanga will minimize if not eradicated.
With these, DILG has pledge their dedicated leadership on all the programs and projects that concerns public safety and peace and order in the province, told DILG Provincial Director Myrvi Fabia.
She also urged each of the attendees to do better in maintaining peace and order in Pampanga.
This year, she added, will also be the start of the department’s intensified action against informal settlers starting in the municipality of Candaba.
By: BEA JEANNEL A. DELOS REYES
-jpds
