CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – This city has the highest number of eight focus crimes of the Philippine National Police in Northern Mindanao, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-10 reported during its Christmas fellowship with the press on Wednesday, December 27.
The Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) had 536 incidents under the eight focus crimes from January 1 to November 30, 47 higher than the same period last year and bigger provinces such as Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.
THE Cagayan de Oro City Police Office in Barangay 40. (Franck Dick Rosete)
PRO-10 spokesperson Police Major Joann Navarro said that being a highly urbanized city and the population are factors why this city was top among provinces in the region.
“For Cagayan de Oro, they tallied a slight increase in theft, and there were also robberies. This is expected at a time of year celebrating the holiday season where people converge in areas that make them vulnerable to being victimized,” the PRO-10 spokesperson said in a Viber message on Thursday, December 28.
The eight focus crimes are murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, theft, robbery, car theft, and motorcycle theft.
Theft had the highest number in the region, with 640 incidents recorded in 11 months this year, followed by rape with 397, physical injuries with 307, murder with 247, robbery with 220, motorcycle theft with 110, homicide with 73, and car theft with nine.
COCPO spokesperson Police Lt. Col. Evan Viñas acknowledged the high figure in eight focus crimes here but stressed that this was addressed by every police station in this city.
“In every provincial and city police office, there are always peculiarities of common crimes in every area of responsibility. Our figure in eight focus crimes is notably high, but it was duly addressed by every police station here in COCPO by applying exact intervention by means of filing an appropriate case against the suspects,” Viñas said in a text message on Thursday.
Bukidnon had the second-highest number of eight focus crimes with 418 cases, followed by Misamis Oriental with 412, Iligan City with 259, Lanao del Norte with 179, Misamis Occidental with 162, and Camiguin with 37.
Focus crimes recorded in Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, and Misamis Occidental have decreased compared to the same period last year while in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, and Camiguin, these increased by 39 and one incident each, respectively.
Overall, Northern Mindanao recorded a total of 2,003 eight focus crimes from January 1 to November 30, down 3.66 percent or 76 cases than the same period in 2022.
Total crime incidents in the region significantly decreased after tallying 7,669 incidents in 11 months which is 5.18 percent or 419 cases lower than the same period last year.
In the fight against illegal drugs, the regional police confiscated over P53-million worth of suspected shabu and marijuana and arrested 2,443 drug suspects in 2,050 anti-illegal drug operations in the same period.
Of the 1,866 drug-affected barangays, 79.42 percent, or 1,482 barangays, have been declared drug-cleared.
Police Lt. Col. Edwin Mondalo, deputy chief of the Regional Operations Division, read the assessment and said the decrease in crime incidents is due to the relentless conduct of law enforcement programs, adding that Northern Mindanao is generally peaceful.