SAN JOSE De BUENAVISTA, Antique – Personnel of the Antique Provincial Police Office (APPO) are in high morale as they perform their duties as they are set to receive double pay starting this January.
Senior Police Officer I Rhia May Sandoy said Wednesday increased take-home pay would help her defray her daily household expenses and settle her debts.
She added that the salary increase could provide financial security to police personnel.
“Thank you to our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and other government officials who made it (pay hike) possible,” Sandoy said.
APPO Information Officer Supt. Norby R. Escobar told the Philippine News Agency in an interview also on Wednesday that they are now more inspired and aggressive in their campaign against illegal drugs and providing active support to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
“We will also be aggressive in the campaign against other forms of criminalities and enforce other special laws,” he said.
The APPO, in implementing the nationwide campaign against illegal drugs or “OplanTokHang” last year, posted 1,738 drug surrenderers of whom 141 were identified as pushers and 1,597 as users.
It also recorded 267 barangays affected by drugs in the province which would be subject of PDEA clearing operations.
Meanwhile, APPO is now holding coordination meetings with the officials of the University of Antique (UA) for the national State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) games that will be held in the province from February 18-24.
“We will be securing the playing venues and billeting areas,” Escobar said.
He said that they would also be working with the Philippine Army to intensify their intelligence monitoring considering the volume of people who would be coming to the province for the sports event. (Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA)
