ACTING on instructions of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ C. Abalos Jr., more plainclothes and uniformed policemen have been deployed in Metro Manila and the rest of the country to help rid the streets of criminality, Philippine National Police Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr. said yesterday.

The DILG chief earlier ordered Lt. Gen. Danao to see to it that under the new Marcos administration, the PNP will double if not triple its anti-criminality campaign nationwide to help clean the streets of criminals.

In turn, the top cop instructed all 17 Police Regional Office directors and their district, provincial, city and municipal stations to ensure the round-the-clock deployment of uniformed and plainclothes officers in their areas to help protect the citizenry 24/7.

In Metro Manila, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Major Gen. Felipe R. Natividad said more NCRPO men will ‘flood the streets’ as they go all-out against criminality on orders of Abalos and Danao.

“In the next few days, streets of Metro Manila will be overwhelmed with uniformed policemen patrolling the beats on foot and on mobile patrols as police visibility is the paramount consideration of the NCRPO to prevent crimes to occur,” the official said.

Natividad said he has required all NCRPO office personnel to perform patrol duties for a minimum of two hours also to help beef-up their street patrols as instructed by Lt. Gen. Danao.

“As the OIC, PNP said to uniformed personnel to go out of their comfort zones, even my personal staff and security will go out and perform patrol duties too. I-inspectionin ko sila pag wala sila sa area nila, I will let them explain.” This order goes down to districts, stations, sub-stations and Police-Community Precincts,” the NCRPO chief said.

Natividad also ordered all NCRPO Team Leaders, supervisors and commanders to strictly supervise their personnel as failure on their part to do so will mean their immediate relief from their posts.

Three successive blunders from subordinate supervisors will sack even the chiefs of police under the NCRPO’s ‘3-Strike Policy,’ he added.

“Magtrabaho ng maayos at tama at palaging isapuso ang disiplina., NCRPO will adhere to all the guidance of our OIC, Lt. Gen. Danao and SILG Abalos with the active support of the community in order to attain a peaceful and orderly region and country as a whole,” the official said.

Natividad issued his marching orders to his men during a command conference at the NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City last week attended by members of the NCRPO Command Group, Regional Staff, its five District Directors down to their Station Commanders and Chiefs.

Abalos had said he also wants the ‘inter-connectivity’ of all CCTV camera systems in Metro Manila and other urban parts of the country which would be vital in every police effort to prevent and solve crime.

“There are so many CCTV units everywhere. We just need an app to connect with everyone,” he said.

A former long-time Mandaluyong City mayor, Abalos has advised local chief executives in the country to emulate what he did during his mayoralty days: Enhance police presence and lower the rate of street crimes.

Effective police visibility, he said would result to less criminality and presence of firearms and other deadly weapons as criminals are always afraid of uniformed and plainclothes policemen that are always ready to arrest them.

Maximum police visibility has been known as a very effective deterrent in the commission and solution of crimes in the country.

A very good example of police visibility took place in Timog Avenue in Quezon City last Sunday morning. Q.C. Police District director, Brigadier Gen. Remus B. Medina said that patrolling members of the QCPD Station 10 arrested a 47-year old man and his 25-year old son after they created trouble outside a Timog restobar and fired a gun indiscriminately.

It turned out that the suspects got irked due to a parking problem and fired shots in the air triggering panic in the area. However, they ended up being arrested immediately by patrolling QCPD Station 10 officers in the area.

An unlicensed caliber .38 was recovered from the suspects who tried to even hide the weapon at their wagon’s engine compartment. Both suspects are now facing charges for alarm and scandal and violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013.

The DILG chief issued his instructions as the PNP leadership assured President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. of a more tougher campaign versus criminality specifically illegal drugs and terror and corruption in the next six years.

Danao has vowed that under the Marcos administration, they would continue a more aggressive crackdown on illegal drug trafficking and on the drug supply and drug reduction programs of the force.

The PNP has been active in its peace and order campaign especially its anti-illegal drugs initiatives which has led to more than P88.83-billion worth of confiscated drugs, shabu, controlled precursors and essential chemical, and laboratory equipment from July 2016 to March 2022.

The DILG said that in the course of six years under the Duterte administration, 336,796 individuals linked to illegal drugs were arrested through more than 230,000 anti-illegal drugs operations conducted nationwide. Among these, 14,888 high value targets were likewise imprisoned.

The PNP crime reduction measures were likewise evident during the previous Duterte administration as crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, and physical injury together with crimes against properties such as robbery, theft, and carnapping have seen a significant decline in the past six years, the DILG said.

Based on PNP data, from more than 6,000 cases in July 2016, murders committed in the country have slimmed down to 983 as of March 2022 with physical injury tallying 1,172 cases, a huge decline compared to its 2016 data of 17,988. Robbery cases also decreased to 1,240 from 9,413 cases in July 2016.

The crime volume also witnessed a steady decline in the past six years leading to 49,383 in March 2022 compared to 292,589 in July 2016 when President Duterte assumed leadership of the country.