Arrest 200 fugitives a month, provincial police units told

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome has ordered the arrest of at least 200 wanted persons in each province monthly as part of the police effort to improve peace and order.

Bartolome said each of the police provincial offices and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) must account for 150 and 50 wanted persons, respectively.

“So effectively, we will have to account for about 150 to 200 wanted persons for each province within a month,” he said.

The PNP, however, could not provide the number of wanted persons nationwide. It released posters of the 20 most wanted kidnappers last year.

Bartolome also instructed the 16 regional police directors to intensify the deployment of their respective Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the anti-crime czar, plans to provide the PNP with supplies, equipment and other needs to be able to improve police visibility in the streets.

Bartolome directed all police units nationwide to carry out measures to address the anticipated rash of street crimes during the “ber” months.

Ochoa ordered the deployment of all police personnel performing administrative tasks and members of the Public Safety Battalion and Company as beat patrollers during the first two hours and the last two hours of their duty to help improve police visibility.

According to Cruz, Ochoa also ordered the assessment of the performance of PNP personnel after three months to determine if they were effective in their positions.

He said the assessment would identify the police chiefs who performed well or who fell short of the expected work results.

Ochoa said police commanders should incorporate Bartolome’s 10-doable objectives under a reform management agenda.

Meanwhile, Bartolome called on the public to complement the police effort on ensuring the safety of the general public.

“We also advise the public to be more vigilant while going to malls, shopping centers and any place of convergence as the Christmas season nears,” he said. “Participation of the citizenry within the community is very vital to our police force to anticipate any unnecessary actions or suspicious persons or groups to perform such criminal activities.”                       – With Ric Sapnu