NCRPO deploys 550 more cops in malls

MANILA, Philippines - With less than a month before Christmas, some 550 additional policemen were deployed in malls and commercial centers in Metro Manila to curb robberies, car thefts and other crimes against persons.

Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos, spokesman of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the policemen will serve at police assistance centers in malls and commercial centers while those from the police districts will conduct regular patrol duties.

“These policemen are doing administrative duties in Camp Crame and the NCRPO. They would be deployed from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. in areas where rampant cases of crimes against persons are recorded,” Carlos said in an interview.

Carlos said it is Senior Superintendent Eric Reyes, operations chief of the NCRPO, who would determine where the policemen are to be deployed.

The deployment of additional policemen in Metro Manila is the brainchild of Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

During his watch as NCRPO chief, Bartolome deployed more policemen in malls and commercial centers in the metropolis, resulting in the significant reduction of crimes from September up to Christmas Day.

Carlos noted that the crimes from September to October this year showed a dramatic drop and he expressed hope that the deployment of additional policemen would further reduce the crime rate until next month.

Observers noted that the crime rate in Metro Manila in the last quarter of the year over the past several years are at an all-time high, especially during the Christmas season.