PNP chief wants more cops on streets

MANILA, Philippines - As his first marching order, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Joel Pagdilao should deploy more uniformed police officers on the streets of Metro Manila to prevent crimes, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ricardo Marquez said yesterday.

He said he issued this order during his speech when he accepted the PNP’s top post two weeks ago, but “I’m dismayed that I’ve not seen them yet on the field.”

Marquez said he hopes Pagdilao would carry out his order upon his first day in office yesterday.

He also wants uniformed policemen guarding commuters lining up at the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit terminals in the morning.

Marquez urged the 19,000-strong NCRPO rank-and-file to perform their duties religiously as they are considered a “show window” of the PNP all over the country.

“When you do good here in the NCRPO, all the PNP is good in the eyes of the public. However, when you are bad the image of the PNP is also bad,” he said.

Marquez was the guest of honor when Pagdilao assumed command of the NCRPO at Camp Bagong Diwa in  Taguig City Tuesday.

Pagdilao replaced Director Carmelo Valmoria who retired last July 16 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

Though the NCRPO managed to lower the crime rate in Metro Manila during the last few months, Marquez said there is still room for improvement.

From 800 crimes reported monthly, the NCRPO managed to reduce it to 300 but Marquez noted that the populace still accused them of “doctoring” the figures.

The PNP chief challenged Pagdilao and his men to regain the trust and confidence of Metro Manilans and work with other stakeholders to make the metropolis the safest place to live in.

“My orders are not inter-galactic jobs but simple jobs that matter much to our populace,” he said.