ICPO forms specialized team vs organized crime groups
Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) will create a specialized team to take care of organized crime groups such as the gun-for-hire operating in the city. The presence of gun-for-hire groups created a stir in the city's peace and order recently.
ICPO director Bartolome Tobias said the group will be headed by Supt. John Jamili. It will be composed of seven to nine personnel with knowledge on intelligence operations. The member must also undergo seminar-training from the Iloilo City Mobile Group.
Tobias said the group is separate from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. He added, since there is no insurgency problem in the city, the group will only cater on the organized crime groups.
The death of Iloilo Provincial Fire Marshal Casiano del Castillo and Eddie Pedrajas were reportedly the handiworks of guns for hire.
Meanwhile, twenty policemen from the ICPO are currently facing administrative cases at the Regional Internal Affairs Office of the Philippine National Police.
Tobias said most of the cops are facing neglect of duty and absenteeism charges. He said corresponding sanctions would be slapped against policemen who are found guilty of the charges.
Tobias, however, did not give specific nature of the administrative cases filed against members of the city police.
He said the resolution of pending administrative cases and imposing sanctions against erring policemen were discussed in his recent meeting with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. The secretary was so concerned about the attitudes of policemen toward their work.
The city director said the DOJ secretary wants that appropriate discipline should be imposed against erring policemen. There was a suggestion that any policemen found guilty of the charges will either be suspended or be transferred to the war-torn Mindanao.
On the police duty, Tobias said they are considering of revising the 7-9-7 to 7-7-9 duty scheme as more crimes happen during nighttime.
He observed that crimes usually happen between 12 in the morning until 8 a.m.