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Thursday, March 18, 2004
Editorial: Jimmy's anti-crime task force
THE Angeles City Police Office (Acpo) was reported recently to have formed a special task group to counter the rise in killings and other criminal activities in the city.
Were an uninitiated read the first part of the story he'd likely react: "Isn't fighting or countering crimes the work of every policeman? Why, then, is the need for Chief Supt. Jimmy F. Restua to create a special task?"
In fairness to Colonel Restua and his men, it is usual practice among police organizations to create special groups or task forces to work on specific cases. This is so in police offices with a small number of personnel.
Angeles, despite its being a charter city, is not like Manila where its Manila's Finest is comprised of several bureaus - the Detective Bureau where smaller units like Special Assignment, Homicide, Theft and Robbery, Arson, Narcotics - which deal on specialized crimes. Police stations in Manila (now the Western Police (Manila) District) have practically the same subdivisions because they are larger even by the whole Acpo.
We can not fault Colonel Restua in his latest move. The members of his special task force, we assume, came from different police stations and other special units - in the exigency of the service.
As announced by Supt. Reynaldo Malonzo, Station 2 chief and deputy director for police community relations, the same task force has been created "to conduct speedy investigation on the killings that shook the city in the past weeks."
Restua, a no nonsense police director, is only too well aware of the new wave of killings here including that of Ruben Marin Jr., alleged to be a jueteng station manager, who died when two assailants shot him eight times with a 9 mm. pistol inside his hospital room on the fourth floor of the St. Catherine Hospital in Barangay Cutcut last Monday night.
Last Saturday, Francis Lao y Pineda, 22, single, of Asuncion Street in Lourdes North West, Angeles City, died from two bullet wounds in the head after he was shot by a man who stole his moped. Two other men died in two separate incidents since February 25. On February 25, bullcap-wearing gunmen shot and killed photographer Nilo Piao, a member of the Bantay Bayan of Barangay Ninoy Aquino.
Last March 8, Mario Fernando, a construction company driver, was shot with a .45 caliber pistol by suspects wearing bullcaps while he returned from work to his house in Barangay Pulung Maragul.
Aside from the killings, there were other crimes which broke out in the city and Restua has to respond, as our reporter said, "to the exigency of the service..."
Restua knows the need to closely monitor the progress of the investigations and to implement new strategies to stop the rising killings in the city can not just be ignored.
Whatever people have to say about Restua's strategy, it is enough that he gets the desired result. Restua has in the past proven himself worthy of his post. We have no reason to doubt that he could rise above the rising criminality in his city now.
(March 18, 2004 issue)
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