■ Ofelia C. Empian
Police presence and vi-sibility are expected this holiday season with the recent deployment of 2,000 personnel of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera to the different provinces and cities of the region.
The personnel will serve until Jan. 6, 2024.
Based on the data from the Regional Operations Division, 887 personnel were deployed in major thoroughfares to conduct road monitoring and to secure the different terminals in the region, especially Baguio City.
The 1,082 personnel were pre-positioned to secure places of convergence and commercial areas like public markets, parks, malls, and places of worship.
In addition to the deployed PRO-Cor personnel, 545 augmented units and force multipliers were also mobilized as part of security and crime prevention measures during the celebration of the long holiday.
PRO-Cor has encouraged the public to always stay alert and be vigilant to avoid any untoward incidents and accidents from happening while enjoying activities prepared for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Meanwhile, PRO-Cor has reported the arrest of 36 individuals wanted by the law, while 64 municipalities in the region recorded zero crime incidents from Dec. 10 to 16.
The Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division recorded the Benguet Police Provincial Office listed the highest number of arrests, with 11 wanted persons apprehended, followed by the Baguio City Police Office with 10 arrests; the Ifugao PPO with five arrests; the Kalinga PPO with four arrests; the Mountain Province PPO with three arrests; and Abra and Apayao PPOs with one arrest each.
Of the arrested personalities, five individuals were identified as most wanted persons, of whom four are listed at the provincial level, and one at the municipal level.
During the same week, 64 municipalities in the different provinces of the region and five police stations in Baguio City recorded zero crime incidents.
Zero crime incidents were recorded in the 23 towns in Abra, 11 towns in Benguet, 10 towns in Mountain Province, nine towns in Ifugao, seven towns in Apayao, four towns in Kalinga, and five police stations of the BCPO.