Las Piñas City Mayor Imelda Aguilar has ordered City Police Chief Marion Balonglong to intensify 24/7 visibility to ensure the safety of residents and foil attempts of criminal elements in the city.
Aguilar issued the order following the recent raid of the National Bureau of Investigation on the alleged drug den in barangay manuyo Uno, and the reported incidents of robberies and petty crimes in residential areas.
She likewise directed barangay officials to mobilize their barangay tanod or watchmen in coordination with the city police force to conduct surveillance and monitoring in their respected areas.
In a related development, Senior Supt. Balonglong reported the reshuffling of the city’s Police Community Precinct commanders.
PCP2 (Zapote and Pulanglupa) and PCP7 (Almanza Uno and Pilar) were reshuffled to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Las Piñas City Police Station, Balonglong said.
The mayor said that police presence had become a key factor in crime prevention.
“Police visibility and accessibility on the streets and communities through police patrols, especially fixed and foot patrols, are the best options because the bedrock of proactive policing patrols is to deter and prevent the crimes from happening rather than waiting for it to occur,” she said.
Police presence in various areas will also reassure residents of safe environment, Aguilar added.
She specifically ordered city police officials to work out more planned crime prevention projects and a higher crime detection rate.
Aguilar also appealed to homeowners association to coordinate closely with their respective barangays to deter any suspicious elements in their areas.
“All communities are safer when citizens act together and crime rates decline or remain low,” the mayor said.
“Neighborhood safety is a shared responsibility, in which both citizens and police have important roles. Small steps are often the best way to start building a community, which could involve such simple things as alerting neighbors,” Aguilar said.
“It forges bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies, and improves relations between police and the communities they serve,” she added.