NCRPO deploys tourist cops

Make way for the Tourist Oriented Police (TOP), made up of officers who will ensure tourist destinations in Metro Manila are safe and clean.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Ricardo de Leon said over 1,000 tourist policemen will be deployed round-the-clock to prevent crime and prevent littering, illegal vending and vandalism.

"Apart from criminal offenses, operatives will focus on other misdeeds such as violation of laws on littering, illegal vending, vandalism," De Leon disclosed.

The Metro police chief said the main purpose of deploying TOPs is to re-establish Metro Manila as the country’s tourist hub by ensuring the safety of both local and foreign tourists.

De Leon added that the TOP program is also expected to greatly contribute to the government’s on-going effort to generate at least one million jobs annually.

"More tourists means more jobs for most of our constituents in the metropolis," De Leon said.

For his part, Tourism Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan expressed his support for the NCRPO’s new program, which he said would help his department in achieving the target 2.5 million foreign tourists this year.

Pagdanganan noted that the Department of Tourism has recorded 1.18 international arrivals in the first half of the year and more than a million are still expected to come until the end of the year.

"With the expected improvement in peace and order situation as a result of the TOPs program, we expect to lure at least 2.5 million foreign tourists this year," Pagdanganan said.