PNP chief to provincial units: Arrest 100 wanted criminals per month

Provincial police units have been ordered to arrest 100 to 150 wanted criminals in their respective jurisdiction every month starting November. The order was given by Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome during Wednesday’s command conference in Camp Crame in Quezon City. “I have already set a target figure that every provincial police commanders should meet in terms of our operation against wanted criminals," said Bartolome. Also present during the command conference was Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., who heads the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). Bartolome said the accounting for wanted persons will be included in the performance evaluation of police commanders. He said the performance evaluation will serve as basis to adjust the measures being implemented for the accounting of wanted persons. “Our first move is to set a target figure so that we can start to work. After the first month, we will evaluate to determine which province needs additional personnel to effectively implement our campaign against wanted persons," he said. Aside from the provincial directors, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) was also directed to do their share by arresting at least 50 wanted criminals every month. “With this, we will have some 150 to 200 wanted persons that we can account per month, per province," Bartolome said. Ochoa, for his part, urged police officials to exert effort that is over-and-above their routine operations to curb criminality nationwide. “We should not just accept the usual notion that every Christmas season, crime incidence is expected to go up. That should not be the case," he said. “If we already know that crime will rise during this time of the year then let us do something new, something out of the box, to prevent this." Ochoa said crimes could be prevented if more law enforcers are visible on the street and even encouraged police generals to “go out and be in the field" to have a better assessment of the situation on the ground. He underscored the importance of actual physical presence of police officers in the community, submission of periodical reports on the peace and order situation, as well as thorough and intelligent assessment of reports from the field in putting together a well-crafted and coordinated security plan. “A real, actual and significant movement of the police force is an effective tool for us to make sure that crime is prevented," Ochoa said. - with Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News