Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the city’s Yuletide celebration turned out to be peaceful and orderly thanks to the efforts of law enforcers and the community.
“Overall, we had a great holiday season in our city with the different colorful and joyful activities that were staged and the various attractions that were offered for enjoyment of all,” the mayor said.
He commended the Baguio City Police Office for the success of its anti-criminality efforts and the community for its cooperation during the entire Christmas season.
He said the city’s crime volume for the entire duration decreased by as much as 56 percent when compared to last year owing to the BCPO’s aggressive crime prevention campaign.
He said the traffic problems encountered were also minimal after adjustments and measures were adopted learning from the bad experience the city had on the first weekend of the month.
BCPO Director Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr. affirmed that the city’s total crime volume during the Christmas rush from Dec. 21 to 31 significantly dropped by 56.47 percent or 48 cases from the figure for the same period last year.
He cited data from the Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System (Ciras) showing a 33.3 percent decrease in focus crimes, including serious offenses like murder, robbery and rape.
“This positive trend reflects the city’s successful efforts in curbing major criminal activities,” he said.
He said non-index crimes including various illegal acts also decreased by 14.29 percent while special law violations dropped by 72.73 percent.
“The detailed breakdown emphasizes the city’s success in addressing both major and minor offenses showcasing a huge improvement in public safety compared with the same period last year,” Bulwayan said.
Bulwayan said traffic incidents also decreased by 59.38 percent.
“Based on the experience of traffic gridlock we had at the start of the month, we made adjustments and adopted strategies to avoid a repeat of the problem and we find these strategies very effective. There were traffic jams that happened but these did not last and were resolved in a short time,” he said. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
