UNDERSECRETARY for Public Safety Jesus Hinlo Jr. of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) challenged the policemen in Negros Island Region (NIR) to “do their job better.”
Hinlo was reacting to the statement of Chief Superintendent Renato Gumban, acting director of Police Regional Office (PRO)-Negros Island Region, who said that crimes had increased in the region after the police stopped its anti-illegal drug operations last month.
Hinlo said if the crimes have gone up, then PRO should do a job better because “drugs are just one of the crimes.”
“If it is about crime against person and property, then it is a wake-up call for PRO-18 to work hard for us to maintain peace and order,” Hinlo added.
However, Hinlo said the opinion of Gumban will be taken into consideration.
The DILG official stressed that the campaign against illegal drugs continues, with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at the forefront.
He said that President Rodrigo Duterte has given so much trust to the police, only to be disappointed with what had happened recently, as he cited the death of a Korean national inside Camp Crame.
“Let’s wait for the decision of the President,” he added.
Gumban earlier said the drug campaign was affected because of the time gap in the conduct of operations because the information has to be relayed first to the PDEA.
He noted there was increase in crime incidents in the past weeks as the drug suspects may be taking advantage of the suspension of the police’s anti-drug campaign.