No ‘Santa cops’ this Christmas in Metro malls - NCRPO
ANDREO CALONZO, GMANews.TV
11/04/2009 | 06:19 PM
The Santa cops are not coming to town this coming holiday season.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Roberto Rosales said they realized that deploying cops dressed as Santa Claus in shopping centers could be risky as criminal elements could take advantage of this.
“Puwede kasing gayahin ‘yan ng mga kriminal (The criminals can easily imitate those costumes)," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV.
Rosales said the NCRPO is already coming up with a public security plan for the holidays to ensure public safety, especially in commercial establishments such as shopping malls and hotels.
“Lahat naman ‘yan babantayan namin para masiguradong ligtas tayo ngayong kapaskuhan (We will make sure the public in these establishments will be safe during the holidays)," he said.
This early, the Eastern Police District (EPD) has started coordinating with mall security personnel to ensure that shoppers are safe during the holiday season.
EPD director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said he and other police officers met with security officers and personnel of four major malls and hotels in Mandaluyong city on Wednesday morning to coordinate public security efforts for the coming holidays.
“We want to prevent another incident like that in Greenbelt 5 where the Alvin Flores gang made a bold move to rob a Rolex store inside the mall," he said, referring to the robbery incident in Makati last October 11.
The Alvin Flores gang is a notorious group of robbers victimizing shopping centers and banks in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Mantele noted that criminal activities increase by 15 to 25 percent during the holidays. - GMANews.TV
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Roberto Rosales said they realized that deploying cops dressed as Santa Claus in shopping centers could be risky as criminal elements could take advantage of this.
“Puwede kasing gayahin ‘yan ng mga kriminal (The criminals can easily imitate those costumes)," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV.
Rosales said the NCRPO is already coming up with a public security plan for the holidays to ensure public safety, especially in commercial establishments such as shopping malls and hotels.
“Lahat naman ‘yan babantayan namin para masiguradong ligtas tayo ngayong kapaskuhan (We will make sure the public in these establishments will be safe during the holidays)," he said.
This early, the Eastern Police District (EPD) has started coordinating with mall security personnel to ensure that shoppers are safe during the holiday season.
EPD director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said he and other police officers met with security officers and personnel of four major malls and hotels in Mandaluyong city on Wednesday morning to coordinate public security efforts for the coming holidays.
“We want to prevent another incident like that in Greenbelt 5 where the Alvin Flores gang made a bold move to rob a Rolex store inside the mall," he said, referring to the robbery incident in Makati last October 11.
The Alvin Flores gang is a notorious group of robbers victimizing shopping centers and banks in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Mantele noted that criminal activities increase by 15 to 25 percent during the holidays. - GMANews.TV
