A TOP police official has declared an all-out war against all crime groups following the series of robbery incidents in Iloilo province recently.
With this, Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) Director Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. ordered all chiefs of police in Western Visayas to carry out more manhunts, arrests, and neutralization of criminals, especially snatchers and robbery-hold-up groups.
Pagdilao ordered the launching of preemptive and preventive crackdowns on all groups identified to be involved in street crimes in urban centers, particularly robbery-hold-up rings.
Series of robbery incidents struck the towns of San Miguel, Badiangan, San Joaquin, and Passi City in the province of Iloilo recently.
Police reports showed that around 1:30 a.m. on July 13, unidentified suspects broke into Homecare Merchandising in Roxas St., San Miguel town and ransacked the vault of the said establishment. The suspects carted some P65,000 cash, assorted cellular phones, MP4 players, and three cash register machines.
On July 12, three armed motorcycle-riding suspects held-up businessman Antero Golez, 48, along Sara Road in Passi City.
On the same day in Badiangan town, two collectors of Taytay Sa Kauswagan, identified as Arnie Muyco and Christian Rigor, were waylaid by motorcycle-riding suspects who forcibly carted the collection money amounting to P19,000.
In Purok 3, Poblacion, San Joaquin on the same day, unidentified suspects robbed the Linzel Merchandise and divested the said establishment of office equipment worth P130,000.
Pagdilao directed all PRO6 intelligence operating units to identify, locate and neutralize groups involved in robbery hold-up and snatching before they could strike at their victims.
He also ordered the Regional Public Safety Battalion to conduct checkpoints in areas where there had been frequent incidents of robbery-holdup.
The regional police chief also ordered the Regional Investigation and Detection Division and its respective units down the stations to come up with a positive action and solve the robbery incidents that had been recorded recently.
Pagdilao, likewise, directed all police commanders to develop, organize, train, and mobilize anti-crime volunteer groups and force multipliers to augment and complement the visibility and patrol operations of the Philippine National Police in thickly populated areas.