ILOILO CITY — Christmas in the Western Visayas region was generally peaceful as major crimes dropped by 71 percent.
“The decisive interventions and collective efforts of all line units through the effective implementation of the operational concepts focused on Enhanced Managing Police Operations (EMPO) strategies were manifested in the notable decline on crime incidents and peaceful celebration of Christmas,” said Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco, director of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6.
Based on PRO-6 data, there were only 84 incidents of the eight major crimes of murder, homicide, robbery, physical injury, theft, rape, and stealing of vehicles compared to 117 during Christmas last year.
The decline in crime was attributed to the 2,492 policemen deployed in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
Francisco thanked the 8,473 force multipliers such as barangay watchmen or tanods who augmented the cops.
Major Grace Socorro Borio, PRO-6 spokesperson, said that the Christmas Day killing of a man in Calinog town, Iloilo province was an isolated incident.
Borio told the Manila Bulletin on Monday, Dec. 26, that the fatal shooting incident was the only incident recorded in Western Visayas.