Res Gestae
Cuevas must give more
Police Chief Superintendent Isagani Rife Cuevas has worked for Western Visayas for 25 years prior his come back as the region's Top Cop recently. "Gani" for his friends, the newly installed Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 Director has been the Chief of two important directorial staff positions – the Regional Operations and Plans Division (ROPD) and the then Regional Investigation and Intelligence Division (RIID), before he assumed positions in the PRO 6 Command Group as Chief Regional Directorial Staff (CRDS) and later Deputy Regional Director for Operations (DRDO), where he was awarded as Best Senior Police Commissioned Officer for Operations in 2005 during the 14th Philippine National Police Anniversary.
Cuevas has indubitably contributed greatly for the maintenance of peace and order situation in Western Visayas, which gave his appointment to the position as Regional Director more reasonable over Police Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao.
To recall, the defunct Task Force Waterfront was Cuevas' brainchild when he was then the Chief of ROPD. The Task Force effectively transformed into a more manageable level the peace and order situation at the eight waterfront barangays: Muelle Loney, Zamora, Concepcion, Sto. Rosario-Duran, Gen. Hughes, Legaspi, Monica and Dela Rama, where extortions, pilferages, snatching, indiscriminate firing and other criminalities at the Iloilo River Wharf were alleged to have been perpetrated by syndicated groups and other criminal elements hiding, if not residing, in these barangays.
Cuevas was also the mind behind the creation of Regional Special Anti-Crime Task Force (RSACTF) which replaced the embattled Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG). The RSACTF has indeed delivered remarkable statistics with its arrests of wanted persons, illegal drug pushers and illegal gambling bet collectors and operators.
All these initiatives, of course, have paid off with Cuevas' Best Senior PCO Award.
Now, as the region's Top Brass, the people of Western Visayas are expecting from Cuevas accomplishments greater than what he delivered before. Can Cuevas move Western Visayas to a higher plane as regards to its peace and order situation? Can the people of Western Visayas expect dramatic decrease in street crimes and violations of special laws, like illegal fishing, cattle rustling, illegal logging, illegal drugs, illegal gambling, loose firearms, etc.? Can we expect faster resolution of cases now than what had his predecessors did?
We know for the fact that PRO 6 has been recognized to have performed remarkably in various field of operations under the past leadership. It has been recognized to have the highest recoveries of loose firearms during the May 2007 elections. Likewise, it has been commended for having the highest crime solution efficiency last year.
I don't intend to say that Cuevas must follow the footsteps of his predecessors, break records and set a new one. Should he do that, he would be nothing more than a second rate, trying hard, copycat. I am aware how significant the contributions of Dulay were. And, should Cuevas do the same, he would still be making remarkable feats. But, these are understatements of my expectations of a gentleman and officer, who is capable of making quantum leaps both in the field of administration and operations.
As I listened to his inaugural speech last February 13, I can't hold my disappointments, however, listening to his litanies of "thank you's". It made me think of greater possibility that his stint as Regional Director would be spent "pleasing" these people he was so thankful for. I simply crossed my fingers against this possibility. If there are things that Cuevas must be pre-occupied in his term, these must be the delivery of quality services for the public and the region's entire police force.
When I say quality services for the public, I don't simply mean the clichés of police visibility, checkpoints/chokepoints, buy-bust operations, etc. When I talk of quality services for the public, I refer to concrete programs and projects that will strengthen police-community relations as fundamental principle of crime deterrence. I am expecting of activities that the police interact with the different sectors of the community. Instead of mere police visibility, I prefer to see policemen work with the community as educators, trainers, facilitators, and organizers. Instead of conducting checkpoints operations, I prefer to see policemen holding lectures on women empowerment, environment conservation, values formation and preservation.
When I say quality services for the region's entire police force, I don't simply mean the conduct of routine check of personnel disposition and location. Neither I expect the increase of administrative cases against the police personnel. With quality services for the entire police force, I mean responding to the needs of frontline personnel: housing, support in duty-related cases, immediate release of fringe benefits, actions against the abusive superiors, etc. With quality services for the entire police force, I mean better police stations and sufficient financial support both for their administrative and operational thrusts.
Maybe I am suggesting, if not expecting, too much from PRO 6 Director Cuevas. But, I am confident that Cuevas' 25 years of police service in Western Visayas can make a difference in his leadership as the new Western Visayas Top Cop. Because I know, Cuevas can deliver more and well!