ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 10, 2013) – Police on Tuesday have drawn up new measures to fight criminalities in the troubled cities of Zamboanga and Pagadian in western Mindanao where gun attacks and killings continue unabated.
The measures were drafted from various recommendations following the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee Meeting here presided by Chief Superintendent Juanito Vaño, the regional police chief, who is also chairman of the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee.
Senior Superintendent Sofronio Elcadre, the acting Zamboanga del Sur police chief, briefed senior police, military and other law enforcement agencies on the current peace and order situation in his area, especially in Pagadian City where “series of shootings, robbery and hold-up and other criminal activities have been reportedly rampant in the area.”
Senior Superintendent Dennis Basngi, the Zamboanga City Police officer-in-charge, also briefed the participants on the local peace and order situation. The spate of shootings is also rampant in Zamboanga City.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, the regional police spokesman, said: “Several measures have been unanimously recommended in order to thwart the unscrupulous individuals or groups from the conduct of their nefarious activities, especially in the cities of Zamboanga and Pagadian.”
He said the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee IX serves as a venue for the coordination of various government law enforcement agencies to ensure unified direction and integration throughout the region in suppression the criminal activities that which disturb the peace and order of the region.
“It aims to strengthen the coordination, cooperation, collaboration among law enforcement agencies of the region and to update the members on the current situation and accomplishments of their respective regional offices, so that measures will be undertaken,” Huesca said without further elaborating.
He said the meeting was attended by the regional chiefs of the different law enforcement agencies in the region, including Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, chief of the Western Mindanao Command; the Philippine Air Force, National Police Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Administration, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources, Bureau of Immigration, Regional Highway Patrol Unit, Regional Criminal Investigation Detective Group and Anti-Kidnapping Group. (Mindanao Examiner)
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