With the arrival of summer, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has stepped up its anti-crime efforts to keep the public, particularly vacationers, safe, officials said.
PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the police force was implementing a two-and-a-half month public safety campaign dubbed Oplan: SumVac (summer vacation) 2012 for the entire season.
The campaign kicked off this month with the close of the school year and the exodus of thousands of students to their home provinces, Cruz said.
“Oplan SumVac will remain in effect through the Holy Week in April, the traditional fiesta and Flores de Mayo season in May and the opening of the next school year in June,” he said in a statement.
PNP Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said intensified police operations would continue against street crimes, “especially those involving riding-in-tandem suspects.”
He ordered sustained operations against armed motorcycle-riding suspects who rob and sometimes kill people in the streets.
The national police chief cited the series of recent successful operations that led to the arrest of suspects involved in high-profile cases, including the robbery-killing of 15-year-old honor student Rowell Cruz who was accosted for his PlayStation and cell phone.
The two suspects were arrested in a follow-up police operation in Taguig City.
Police operations in January resulted in the neutralization of 30 motorcycle-riding suspects involved in 242 shooting, robbery and other criminal incidents, Bartolome said.
“Police checkpoints have proven effective in intercepting riding-in-tandem suspects and local PNP units have been ordered to press mobile checkpoint operations, particularly around crime-prone areas,” he said.
Every “riding-in-tandem” suspect arrested usually meant the solution of a string of criminal cases.
Bartolome cited one case where an armed motorcycle-riding suspect intercepted at a police checkpoint yielded a gun that turned out to have been involved in 12 previous shooting incidents.