ILOILO City – In the three months of community quarantine, crime incidents in Western Visayas dropped by 44.6 percent, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The police recorded 3,114 crimes from March 17 to June 13, way below the 6,982 crimes recorded in the same period in 2019, said Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, regional police director.
There has been a sharp drop specifically on what the PRO-6 termed as “focus crimes” (rape, murder, homicide, robbery, carnapping, motornapping, physical injury, and theft) – 55.57 percent.
The police recorded 568 incidents – more than half down from 1,022 incidents recorded from March to June last year.
Pamuspusan said 24/7 checkpoints contributed to the drop in crime incidents, coupled with the strict enforcement of the curfew and liquor ban. He also cited the maximization of police presence in the field.
“We really worked hard to implement all guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in partnership with other agencies,” said Pamuspusan.
During the three-month period, the police also arrested 263 drug personalities across the region in 189 anti-illegal drug operations.
Some P7 million worth of shabu were seized, too.
In the campaign against illegal gambling, 810 violators were arrested in 226 police operations, said Pamuspusan.
“Despite being busy at quarantine control points, hindi tayo nagpabaya sa campaign against illegal activities,” he stressed.
While community quarantine restrictions are being eased, Pamuspusan assured the public that policemen would continue helping local government units enforce public health safety protocols such as the wearing of facemask and physical distancing, and even curfew./PN
