‘Police intelligence must be improved’
The intelligence gathering of the Iloilo City Police Office must be strengthened to suit the safety needs of a growing city, Vice Mayor Jose Espinosa III said.
Espinosa, who is acting mayor while Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is in the United States, said the suspects in the killing of Police Officer 1 Joemarie Lamis are professional killers who might still be in the city.
Lamis, assigned at the Guimaras Provincial Police Office, was killed by two motorcycle-riding men at the Muelle Loney area in the morning of November 2.
The policeman was also on board a motorcycle and was on his way home to Brgy. Alalasan, La Paz district.
Espinosa said he is appealing to barangay leaders and residents to immediately report to authorities the presence of suspicious characters in their own barangays to deter criminality.
“The police must also follow-up with intelligence network in the barangays,” he said.
Espinosa said he will soon meet with Senior Supt. Dennis Basngi, city police director, to discuss the rising criminality in the city.
He said the Lamis killing is premeditated but an isolated case on specific policeman target.
Espinosa he will discuss with Basngi the update on the killing of businesswoman Rose Gustilo Tan and her personal assistant Purificacion Caotera and a taxi driver found dead inside a high-end housing subdivision in Jaro.*PNA
