More cops sent to Bulacan city after massacre

More policemen will be assigned to San Jose del Monte to beef up the police force there, in light of the murder of three children, their mother and grandmother at the North Ridge Royale Subdivision in the city on June 27.

This was announced on Friday by Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, Central Luzon police director, who did not say how many policemen would be sent to the city, where only 129 policemen served 800,000 residents.

Supt. Fitz Macariola, San Jose del Monte police chief, said among the residents were former informal settlers who were relocated there by the government in the early 1970s. The city hosts 21 government resettlement sites.

Among Bulacan province’s three cities and 21 towns, San Jose del Monte had the highest crime volume in the last five months of 2017 when it recorded the most number of murders with 36 cases, followed by Plaridel town with 22 cases.

San Jose del Monte also had 13 rape cases, the highest in the province, followed by nine cases in Balagtas town.

In the last five months of the year, the city recorded 36 theft cases, followed by Meycauayan town (29) and Baliwag town (24).

The city received the highest number of complaints for physical injury in the province with 29, followed by Meycauayan with 20. The city dealt with 24 robbery cases and six homicide cases in the first five months of 2017. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE