The Cebu City Police Office intensified intelligence monitoring and police visibility as the "ber" months begin following a directive from PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.
CCPO deputy city director for operations Lt. Col. Miguel Andeza stated that quick police action relies heavily on immediate reporting by victims or witnesses to meet a target response time of three to five minutes.
Police have tightened security around commercial centers, transport terminals, public markets, pawnshops, financial institutions, boarding houses, and pension houses to prevent holiday crime surges.
THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has intensified its intelligence monitoring and police visibility as the “ber” months begin, bracing for a potential surge in crime.
The move follows a directive from Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordering heightened vigilance to prevent crime. Police have stepped up patrols near commercial centers, transport terminals, public markets and crime-prone areas.
Lt. Col. Miguel Andeza, CCPO deputy city director for operations, said authorities are closely tracking petty thieves, robbers and pickpockets who usually operate during the holiday season.
The CCPO has enhanced its force deployment and retrained officers to maintain a target response time of three to five minutes upon receiving an alarm.
However, Andeza emphasized that quick police action relies heavily on immediate reporting by victims or witnesses.
“Most of incident nga usahay dili dayon makaabot ang polis kanang delayed reporting, nahitabo ang krimen so it take pa og one hour una maka-report wala na di na maabtan sa polis, if the crime committed and it was already reported on that particular hour usahay ma-break nato ang five minutes pinakataas na kaayo nang five minutes,” Andeza said.
(Most incidents where police sometimes fail to arrive immediately involve delayed reporting. The crime happens, but it takes about an hour before it is reported, so by then, the police can no longer catch the suspect. If a crime is reported immediately, within that particular hour, sometimes we can respond within five minutes. Five minutes is already the longest.)
Police urged the public to immediately contact the PNP hotline or their local police station to report crimes.
Security has also been tightened around pawnshops, financial institutions, boarding houses and pension houses to prevent a repeat of past robberies involving suspects from neighboring regions.
Andeza noted, however, that intelligence units have not detected any major criminal syndicates operating in the city so far. / AYB
