NCR’s anti-crime drive to be replicated in Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog

MANILA, Philippines - The government is planning to replicate Metro Manila’s anti-crime campaign, which has been deemed successful, in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog, an official said yesterday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, during a command conference at the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame, said he wanted PNP officials in the country’s three largest regions to implement Oplan Lambat-Sibat by mid-year. 

The anti-crime effort was shown to be effective after the PNP recorded an almost 50 percent decline in crime incidents in Metro Manila.

From an average of 1,000 every week, the crime rate was reduced to 500 following the implementation of Oplan Lambat-Sibat, the PNP said.

The program has been operational for 37 weeks in the National Capital Region. Lessons learned from the program’s implementation in the NCR will be shared with Regions 3 and 4A.

Oplan Lambat-Sibat is a reinvigorated crime prevention effort involving “deliberate, programmatic and sustained” police operations such as setting up checkpoints, Oplan Bakal-Sita (searching for illegal firearms) and Bulabog (rounding up possible criminals in an area) and mobile and beat patrols, according to Roxas.

It is supported by scientific crime reporting from the police community precincts to the stations, then to the districts and up to the National Capital Region Police Office.

Roxas ordered the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management and the Directorate for Operations to compile in an instruction manual the best practices that the PNP accomplished in the past 37 weeks.

He said Oplan Lambat-Sibat has brought down robberies and thefts in Metro Manila, including carjackings, as shown in the weekly crime report since June 2014.

The program’s success gave the national police time to focus on murder and homicide, he said.