City’s top cop deploys PNP forces in schools
Uniformed policemen under the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) were highly visible yesterday in just about all city schools and universities.
A safety precaution employed by ICPO director Senior Superintendent Melvin Mongcal, the order was also out for the police to keep watch of the expected presence of street criminals.
Senior Superintendent Mongcal himself led the rounds to check on his men and the day’s events with the entire morning spent on surprise visits.
The first day of school year 2009-2010 for thousands of Ilonggo students, he has since made an assurance that the city police are all set and ready.
“Our focus is on the deployment of our men… we have enough... have everything under control,” Senior Superintendent Mongcal said in a The News Today (TNT) phone interview while adding that vigilance is foremost in the security plan.
This, as Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas also called on appropriate safety measures for this school year’s returning students.
Of particular concern is the resurgence of cellphone snatching, pickpockets and car thieves lurking within the various university belts here.
“We are also securing the bus terminals because a number of our students come from adjacent towns… and the parents, school administrators, they are also part of our priorities,” Senior Superintendent Mongcal added.
Yet alongside the tight watch on street thugs, also included in the week’s priority is the traffic watch particularly in usual clogged areas of the city.
The News Today (TNT) learned that deployed as well are the entire traffic police force of the city’s Traffic Management Enforcement Unit (TMEU) and back-up provided by the traffic auxiliary men.