The leadership of the Philippine National Police has ordered police chiefs and station commanders to increase visibility and crime prevention measures, especially in tourist spots.
The order was issued in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to increase the deployment of policemen in tourism sites across the country to ensure local and foreign visitors were safe from criminals.
“We understand the logic behind the order of our Commander-In-Chief, President Marcos, to ensure that all areas in the country, especially tourist spots, are safe because tourism plays a big part in the economic recovery plan of the new administration,” PNP director for operations Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said in a statement over the weekend.
“Thus, the PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. wants to ensure that all our police commanders down to the precinct level and municipal police stations comply,” he added.
De Leon said the security measures in the country’s tourist destinations should supplement the prior reminders to all police commanders to regularly update crime mapping in their respective areas of responsibility.
He added this should be accompanied by increased intelligence gathering efforts to identify criminals and threat groups in various regions of the country.
“Crime mapping is essential because it gives our commanders an advantage in preparing and implementing measures to prevent crimes at a specific time and location. This should be paired with reliable intelligence data about which groups are operating in particular areas,” De Leon said.
He also reminded police commanders to comply with the order of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos to intensify efforts to account for loose firearms in the country, stating that loose firearms are usually the primary weapon used to commit crimes.
“Let’s do our part for economic recovery by performing well in terms of peace and order, which will benefit our country,” he said.