BACOLOD City Police Office (BCPO) Acting Director Colonel Manuel Placido has vowed to solve the unsolved shooting incidents in the city involving riding-in-tandem gunmen.
Placido, who arrived in Bacolod City on Friday, October 2, said Tuesday, October 6, that he will check all the pending shooting cases and he will talk with the investigators.
"These cases should be solved to give justice to the family of the victims. We should identify and arrest the suspects," he said.
In April and May, a former village chief and a businessman were killed in separate areas of Barangay Villamonte. In August, an activist was killed in Barangay Mandalangan, and three persons were also killed by unidentified assailants on board a motorcycle in Barangay 2, Bacolod City.
"It is my priority to address the killing incidents, as well as the campaign against illegal drugs here. We are mandated to solve all the crime incidents so we need the cooperation of Bacolodnons," Placido said.
He said he never expected that he would be reassigned in Bacolod, but it is part of their job since Colonel Henry Binas was also reassigned to Camp Crame.
"I am happy to be assigned here and I will do my best to serve the people of Bacolod and to maintain the peace and order," he added.
Placido, from the Civil Security Group at the National Headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP), paid a courtesy call on Mayor Evelio Leonardia on October 1.
Placido said Leonardia asked him to help them in the campaign against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and to maintain the peace and order in the city.
He said 30 percent of the BCPO personnel were already members of the contract tracing team to locate and to extract those who were tested positive of the Covid-19.
"We are lacking personnel and it's also a challenge for us, but we will do our best to serve the people of Bacolod," he added.
Placido, who is from Quezon, noted that BCPO has more than 400 personnel only.
"We lack about 56 percent of personnel compared to other police units in the country. We will check why we don't have enough personnel here," Placido said.