BAGUIO CITY – Combined police operatives and intelligence agents were able to arrest some 857 wanted persons in the city during the first 11 months of the year.
Senior Superintendent Ramil L. Saculles, City Director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), said the arrests made by the police operatives this year had a significant increase of 241 arrests or 28% higher compared to the same period last year.
The BCPO official reported that the arrests include top most wanted persons in the national level with a P4.8 million cash reward, 1 arrest of top most wanted person in the regional level, 8 considered as top most wanted persons in the city level, and 64 in the station level.
Through the BCPO’s prompt response from the calls or text messages from their hotline numbers coming from concerned and vigilant citizens, police operatives were able to arrest 635 persons by virtue of warrantless arrests wherein the arrested individuals were allegedly involved in different cases like homicide, physical injuries, rape, robbery, theft, and other non-index crimes.
From January to November this year, Saculles claimed police operatives were able to account 11 surrendered firearms, recovered 6 firearms, and confiscated 9 loose firearms with a total of 26 accounted firearms in the city.
Through checkpoints and by virtue of search warrants, he disclosed 13 persons were arrested for violation of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Law, and 11 cases were filed in court.
The courts approved the BCPO’s application of 12 search warrants authorizing the police operatives to conduct legal search on houses, properties and effects on identified havens of illegal activities and personalities which resulted to the filing of 6 cases of violation of RA 10591, 5 cases of violation of the provisions of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law, and a lone case of Presidential Decree (PD) 1602 or Anti-Gambling Law were filed in court against the 25 arrested individuals from the said operations.
On illegal gambling, the BCPO conducted 30 illegal gambling operations that resulted to the arrest of 58 persons and the filing of 16 cases in court. There were 13 operations conducted on environmental protection that resulted to the arrest of 8 persons for alleged illegal logging.
Police operatives were also able to arrest 37,163 traffic violators, including numerous city ordinances of the local government, which resulted to the collection of a total revenue of P10,812,950 reflecting an increase of 35%, or an equivalent of P3,764,650, compared to the collections from traffic violators during the same period last year.
Moreover, Saculles emphasized the revenue collection efforts of the City Treasury Office improved by 87% equivalent to P6,464,360 in the processing of police clearances and certifications during the said period.
By Dexter A. See