Return to glory for WPD

Western Police District (WPD) director Senior Superintendent Pedro Bulaong has vowed to regain the old glory of the Manila’s Finest by instituting organizational reforms within the police district through the adoption of Patrol, Investigation and Traffic and Order Maintenance, or "PIT."

Since assuming the top WPD post on July 29, Bulaong continues to institute changes, not only in the physical appearance of the WPD headquarters, but also in the attitude and skills development of Manila policemen.

In a report to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane on his first 100 days as WPD director, Bulaong cited "PIT" as a key factor in improving visibility of police in the community.

The WPD has effected a significant modification in its beat patrol system with foot and bike patrollers no longer confined to a specific beat.

Bulaong said station commanders are given the free hand to deploy beat patrollers as they see it, depending on the condition. Likewise, the District Patrol Mobile Unit has switched from the previous three-shift, eight-hour duty to a two-shift, 12-hour duty. Hence, there are now 50 mobile cars prowling Manila’s streets at any given time, Bulaong said.

In an investigation, the WPD’s aim is "certainty of arrest" when dealing with criminal elements. This is being accomplished through the reactivation of detectives or "sekretas" and the strengthening of the district’s follow-up unit. Sekretas involve six teams, one each for Manila’s six districts that are now in the thick of building up their information-gathering capability through the barangay intelligence network, Bulaong said. The follow-up units have established an improved alarm-reporting system and case-tracking system to effectively monitor the progress of cases.

Bulaong said the traffic and order maintenance program aims to bring back sanity on Manila’s streets by strictly adhering to the zero-tolerance policy for violators, and rationalizing the deployment of traffic enforcers for maximum effect. The WPD will now tap all available personnel of police stations and other operating units to help in traffic management.

WPD spokesman Chief Inspector Gerry Agunod said Bulaong is quite adept with Manila’s peace and order situation having been in the Manila police since 1976 when he started as a mobile crew.