ILOILO — Police stations across Iloilo Province will now compete not only against crime but also for recognition and substantial cash incentives.
The provincial government has launched a province-wide search for the most outstanding city and municipal police stations based on their success in reducing crime and maintaining peace and order.
The initiative follows the implementation of Provincial Ordinance No. 2025-338, authored by 2nd District Board Member June Mondejar, which institutionalizes the “Search for the Most Outstanding City/Municipal Police Stations in the Province of Iloilo” to assess, recognize, and reward police units that demonstrate exemplary performance in law enforcement and community safety.
The move is aimed at encouraging police stations to improve operational efficiency, strengthen crime prevention efforts, deepen community engagement, and adopt innovative policing strategies.
A Technical Working Group convened on May 26 to finalize the contest guidelines and evaluation criteria.
Police stations will be assessed based on their 2025 performance in several key areas, including operational functionality, effectiveness in reducing both index and non-index crimes, community engagement programs, and innovative law enforcement practices.
Index crimes include offenses against persons such as murder, homicide, physical injury, and rape, as well as crimes against property such as robbery, theft, and carnapping.
Non-index crimes, meanwhile, cover violations of special laws and offenses under the Revised Penal Code.
The competition will be divided into two categories.
Category A will cover Passi City and first-class municipalities, while Category B will include second-, third-, and fourth-class municipalities.
Under both categories, the champion will receive P250,000, while the first runner-up will get P200,000 and the second runner-up P150,000.
Provincial officials said the program is intended to recognize police units that have made significant contributions to public safety while motivating law enforcement personnel to sustain high standards of service and accountability.
The search is expected to intensify efforts among police stations across Iloilo to further reduce crime rates and strengthen peace-and-order initiatives in their respective jurisdictions./PN
