Camp Olivas — Nearly 43,000 individuals were arrested, including 546 of the most wanted in the region, and various firearms, deadly weapons and illegal drugs were confiscated in more than eight months of police operations in cities and municipalities in Central Luzon.
Police Region 3 director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said the operations were in adherence to the order of PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar to intensify, reinvigorate and focus on the anti-crime and anti-insurgency efforts through the Intensified Cleanliness Policy (ICP).
De Leon said upon his assumption in October of last year, he ordered all provincial directors and chiefs-of-police to conduct intensified Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO) as part of the crime mitigation efforts of the PNP to deprive criminals with the opportunity to commit crimes. Further, he has issued a warning to all criminals that the full arm of the law will be used against them should they still prefer to continue disrupting peace and order in the region.
He added that PNP units in Region 3 have continuously carried out actual and proactive crime prevention drives by accounting all wanted persons, clearing the streets of drug personalities and taking weapons and other instruments of violence from the hands of criminals before they can use them.
The Central Luzon police chief reported that from October 7 to June 15 this year, authorities have arrested a total of 42,694 individuals, 5,785 of them have standing warrant of arrests for various crimes, 7,601 were arrested for illegal drugs, 7,161 were apprehended for illegal gambling, 91 were arrested for illegal logging, 141 for illegal fishing, 112 for Carnapping and 21,257 were given citation tickets for violation of local ordinances.
For the same period last year, CL cops confiscated a total of 584 assorted firearms, 19.43 kilograms of shabu va;iued at P132,097,241.73, 588.25 kilograms of marijuana worth P70,590,032.43 and P2,435,674.00 cash bets.
According to De Leon, these accomplishments particularly the arrest of most wanted fugitives, people involved in illegal drugs and street crimes were the results of the strong support of all local chief executives in the anti-criminality programs of the PNP-PRO3 as he continuously appealed for public full support and cooperation. BERNARD GALANG