ILOILO City – The start of the so-called “ber months” means busier days ahead for both police and criminals in this city and Iloilo province.
While criminals take advantage of the nearing holiday season to prey on their victims, the cops are doubling their efforts to protect the citizens despite being kept busy by the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis, according to Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Relado, officer-in-charge of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO).
“We need more police personnel but we have created a strategy to secure establishments in our area of responsibility,” said Relado.
The ICPO’s security plan is in place, Relado said. He met his police chiefs for this last week.
As the holidays draw near, demand for illegal drugs surges, according to Relado who vowed increased police visibility in public places to prevent crimes.
“More policemen will be tasked to patrol malls and other crowded areas like transport terminals, churches and areas of convergence. They would be extending the number of hours of their duty,” he said.
Relado added: “I told my men that these are little sacrifices because we are facing two concerns: COVID-19 and opportunistic criminals.”
For his part, Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, Iloilo Police Provincial Office director, instructed his police chiefs to watch over establishments and vital installations and mobilize their intelligence personnel.
“We have a small number of establishments in the province unlike in the city. We can handle them despite having quarantine borders to man, too. We have patrol officers who can go around for crime prevention,” Lucas added.
The province’s top cop also appealed for help from the community by giving information about criminals in their area.
“Barangay officials and the public play a vital role in preventing crimes. We need to maintain peace and order in the province,” Lucas said.
He added that the IPPO is currently monitoring trends in criminal activities and trying to pinpoint places where these incidents are high./PN
