Barangays and police stations intensified their monitoring and surveillance operations against vandalism as perpetrators were reported to have shifted their operations to residential areas.
Baguio City Police Office City Director Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr. told Mayor Benjamin Magalong that the vandals have now been targeting remote areas in villages after public places and the central business district became restricted to them due to enhanced monitoring.
Bulwayan assured the mayor that the police stations will step up their anti-vandalism operations in tandem with the barangays to deter these activities.
The mayor expressed concern after proliferation of graffiti and defaced walls and private properties was reported in some barangays including Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo-Lower QM.
GEFA-Lower QM Punong Barangay Michael Marinas, in a radio interview, said they have not had problems with vandals in the past and only started having one when they lost their CCTVs which they used for monitoring.
He said they suspect this was the handiwork of gang members who might be residents of other barangays.
He said since they have not identified any perpetrator, the barangay officials and employees and affected residents in collaboration with Police Station 5 personnel will undertake the clean-up and repainting of the defaced walls.
Meanwhile, investigations will continue to identify the culprit and monitoring of areas serving as convergence points for wayward persons will be heightened, he said.
Magalong encouraged residents to do their part by helping watch out for suspicious persons and reporting illegal activities to authorities at once. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
