Doubtful NCRPO chief challenges officers

Got rid of all the criminals in your area? Then back up your claim by bragging about it to media.

This was the challenge aired by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) head Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo Jr. to Quezon City and Mandaluyong police officials who informed him that they had successfully eradicated crime in the areas under their jurisdiction by “100 percent.”

Garbo apparently had a hard time believing their report because he told them, “I want your district director and chief of police to come out to the media. Talk to Ted Failon, and tell him, argue with him that your area is crime-free. Then, follow it through with Igan (Arnold Clavio) and with TV5. Let me see if you’re tough enough.”

He made the dare after officers from the Quezon City Police District and Mandaluyong City Police reported that they had rounded up all the criminals in the Cubao and Kalentong areas, respectively, during a command conference at Caloocan City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

The two areas were among the five identified by the NCRPO as “street crime hotspots” in Metro Manila, together with the Monumento area in Caloocan, the University Belt in Manila, and Baclaran in Parañaque. Garbo earlier ordered police chiefs with control over these areas to minimize street crime.

Garbo said that publicly revealing these “accomplishments” would open them up for public discussion and even criticism.

“That way, they should be able to justify why they think they were 100 percent successful. The media and the public will surely be critical about this,” he added. Nathaniel R. Melican