990AM: Start of classes peaceful so far—PNP

[jwplayer mediaid=”12627″ bufferlength=”10″]MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) The start of classes has so far been peaceful as of Monday afternoon, Philippine National Police officials said.

“We are presently checking all police reports coming in. So far, everything seems to be in order. People have been rushing to schools but that is normal,” PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said over a Radyo Inquirer interview.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that “Oplan Balik-Eskwela (Back to school) 2011” had been peaceful as of 1 p.m. with no untoward incidents reported by all lawmen deployed nationwide.

The PNP chief said that his men have been on full alert since last week, securing public schools and roaming the streets—on the lookout for crime. Police will continue to do so until next week, he stated.

All PNP personnel deployed to ensure that the public remained safe as classes started will continuously be manning their respective areas of responsibility, Cruz said.

“Police will not only look into possible petty crimes but also kidnappings. We also have motorized elements deployed,” said the PNP chief.

Bacalzo said that he required all police chiefs to be at the forefront of inspections of buses and schools Sunday, adding that lawmen will also be roaming the streets on foot.

“I have required all chiefs of police to inspect the buses, the schools—they have to lead in these inspections,” Bacalzo explained.

Admitting that increasing police visibility was difficult with limited men, Bacalzo was still optimistic as the PNP was set to recruit 11,000 officers this year.

“By July, we will be training the 8,000 men we planned to recruit during the first semester (of the year). In the second semester, we will be recruiting 3,000 more. We will be able to deploy more policemen as we recruit more men, we may be able to deploy them not only to roam the streets but also public markets and other crowded areas,” he said.

The 138,000-strong police force was placed under full alert to ensure the operational readiness of police units in responding to peace and order concerns, including threats from criminal elements that may take advantage of the situation and to keep students safe from pickpockets, snatchers, swindlers, drug pushers and reckless motorists, among others on the first day of the school year.

For the full interview, listen to Radyo Inquirer, DZIQ 990 AM.

Karen Boncocan, Danica Hermogenes, Inquirer.net

Originally posted at 1:50 pm | Monday, June 6th, 2011