Police to guard provincial buses

Philippine National Police chief Oscar Calderon has ordered units in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon to implement stringent security measures in anticipation on the rise of crime during Christmas season.

Calderon also directed police commanders to monitor public transportation, especially those traveling along the North and South expressways following several robberies on provincial buses plying the expressways.

He said these should prompt police commanders to double their efforts in securing passengers and commuters.

"Detectives should be deployed to prevent criminals from carrying out activities. Christmas is near and we should make sure that everybody is safe. Let us help each other so we can have a merry Christmas," said PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr.

Calderon ordered detectives and undercover operatives deployed in buses to deter robberies, among other security measures.

The security measure will be implemented in time for the Yuletide season during which commuter traffic to and from the provinces is expected to become heavy, he said.

In Metro Manila, Pagdilao said that the PNP’s National Capital Region Police Office will conduct mandatory inspection of all outbound passengers and cargo in provincial bus terminals.

Likewise, bus terminals in key points in Central Luzon and Calabarzon will also implement similar security measures for Manila-bound provincial buses.

The PNP will set-up checkpoints along routes to conduct random inspection of buses. Drivers are also advised to pull over if they sense something suspicious about their passengers.

The PNP is encouraging operators of provincial buses to adopt a system of terminal-to-terminal operation to insure that all passengers boarding their buses undergo inspection.

In the latest bus robbery along the North Luzon tollway, an Air Force enlisted man was killed by robbers. Six gang members boarded the northbound bus by pairs from three different points along EDSA and announced the holdup as soon as the bus entered the expressway.

Last month, operatives from the Pampanga police provincial office busted six members of a robbery gang in the town of Mabalacat who are believed responsible in a string of bus robberies in Central Luzon.