By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA
MANILA – The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is now on full alert to secure the metropolis for the Yuletide season, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said on Tuesday.
Full alert means the highest level of readiness in all police offices and units in Metro Manila.
“Here in NCR, we are always on full alert even when I was NCRPO regional director. I do not declare any breaks. We are always on full alert especially if there are holidays like this. Remember that it is in the NCR where people flock. We can find here the big churches and malls where people gather so we have to ensure the presence of our policemen have a 100-percent attendance,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
For his part, NCRPO head Director Guillermo Eleazar ordered the five district directors to tighten security around churches and residential areas to protect churchgoers and thwart burglars.
The five districts covered by the NCRPO are the Manila Police District (MPD), Quezon City Police District (QCPD), Northern Police District (NPD), Southern Police District (SPD), and Eastern Police District (EPD).
“The Team NCRPO celebrates this Christmas by intensifying police visibility to ensure there will be peace, order, safety and joy in our midst, every moment of the day,” Eleazar said, adding that his order is in line with the Philippine National Police’s “Ligtas Paskuhan 2018” program.
“We are fielding about 7,823 NCRPO police officers with the full support of 7,955 force multipliers to oversee the peace and order situation of our metropolis,” Eleazar said.
“They will be posted strategically region-wide at places of convergence and vital installations. We will post ‘police assistance hubs’ in all major public markets, malls, churches, airports, LRT and MRT terminals, seaports, and transport terminals,” he added.
Earlier, the “Oplan Ligtas Kapaskuhan 2018” was designed to minimize crimes during the Yuletide season as the PNP chief reminded anew all police commanders about the operational guidelines and procedures to be undertaken in maintaining order, law enforcement, and in providing public safety services during the traditional nine-day ‘Simbang Gabi’.
Albayalde said he expects field commanders to make inspection rounds in churches around the metropolis and suburbs on Sunday to assess the implementation of beat patrol and mobile patrol operations in areas where parishioners gather to attend the traditional nine-day dawn masses.
The PNP chief instructed all police regional directors to redirect police patrol operations to maximize police visibility around churches.
Albayalde specifically instructed field unit commanders to deploy mobile patrol units with blinkers turned on to visibly establish police presence but not necessarily create undue alarm to the public.
Local police units were also reminded to be on the lookout for criminal elements engaged in common street crimes such as mugging, swindling, gang wars, robbery and theft, and burglary of unattended residences.
