MAGALLANES, Cavite – This agriculture town of Cavite is considered most peaceful with only two incidents of petty thefts for the last 11 months and has achieved zero- crime incidence to date since January this year, the town’s chief of police Senior Inspector Edison N. Vitto said Thursday.
Vitto, who has served as the town’s police chief since assuming the post for 11 months now, has attributed the tranquility of the town to its idyllic, rural setting “where everybody is related to each other.”
He cited three barangays here, specifically Ramirez, Poblacion 3 and Kabulusan as certified “drug free” by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), with seven more for validation, while another six are up for assessment and validation by the Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADAC).
According to Vitto, around 60% of the 222 drug surrenderers under the “Oplan-Tokhang” Program are now fully rehabilitated.
To sustain this, the local police chief have more projects in the pipeline like “Ang LODI kong driver, drug-free forever” a sticker campaign for tricycle drivers with negative drug test results.
The town police chief is set to launch his local initiative on the “hugot lines” for students during the school opening this June.
The local police also credit the valuable contribution of the village leaders who are very effective in settling minor spats, mostly neighbors’ quarrels, and are contained within the barangay level.
Vitto also noted the government’s strong campaign against illegal drugs and criminality, from the national, to the provincial and cascading to the local level especially in this town.
He has lauded the town constituents’ active participation in curbing illegal practices and their support to the police force in maintaining peace and order in their jurisdictions.
This 4th class municipality has a population of 21,231 per 2010 census, spread through the town’s 16 mostly upland villages. (Gladys Pino/PNA)
