3 top C. Luzon cops axed

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Three police officials in Central Luzon were relieved from their posts on Thursday for their failure to effectively implement the intensified anticrime program of the Philippine National Police.

Central Luzon regional director Chief Supt. Ronald Santos ordered the relief of the police chiefs in Bulacan, Bataan and Pampanga for their weak implementation of Oplan Lambat Sibat.

Sacked were Supt. Marcos Rivero of the Marilao police station in Bulacan, Senior Insp. Marlo Dangarang of the Abucay police station in Bataan and Supt. Rechie Duldulao of San Fernando police station in Pampanga.

Santos said the three police officials were immediately relieved “for failure to meet the requirements” of the stepped-up anticrime campaign.

This was based on the audit made by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management and Police Director Ricardo Marquez of the Directorate for Operations.

Oplan Lambat Sibat is an intensified anticrime program involving a specific deployment of policemen to crime prone areas, an increased serving of arrest and search warrants, more checkpoints and patrols as well as intelligence operations against organized crime syndicates.

It was initially implemented in Metro Manila in June last year, where weekly crime rates averaged at more than 900 a week at the start of the program. In May this year, crime rates in Metro Manila are now at more than 300 or a 60-percent decrease.

Marquez held a command conference in Camp Olivas in San Fernando, Pampanga, where the implementation of Oplan Lambat Sibat for the past 11 weeks in Central Luzon was assessed.

Santos noted that the implementation of the program in Central Luzon has decreased weekly crime rates by almost 30 percent.

“The gains from intensified anticriminality efforts should be passed down to the stations to inspire police officers to work harder, with the assurance that their efforts will also yield good results,” the police official said.