MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/11 January)—Four chiefs of police in Bukidnon province have been relieved last week as crime incidents in the province increased by almost half in 2013 from the previous year.
Chief Insp. Rene Berico, provincial police information officer, said the four officials were sacked for apparently not accurately reporting crime incidents in their jurisdictions.
There was a “huge discrepancy” in the actual crime figure and what they have reported, according to Berico, who declined to give any figures.
Chief. Supt. Catalino Rodriguez, Police Regional Office-10 director, issued Special Order 324 last January 6 relieving the four police officials, which was implemented by Senior Supt. Glenn de la Torre, the provincial police director.
Relieved were police chiefs Supt. Oscar Jacildo of Malaybalay City, Supt. Roy Magsalay of Valencia City, Supt. Dexter Paje of Manolo Fortich town, and Supt. Tirso Refugio of Sumilao town.
They were called back to the provincial police headquarters, Berico said.
Jacildo was replaced by Supt. Michael Rey T. Frontreras, who is from the Police Provincial Investigation Office. Senior Insp. Raymund Lumapay, Malaybalay City deputy police chief, replaced Magsalay in Valencia City. Sumilao’s new police chief is Chief Insp. Rafael Lutrago and Insp. Ismael Gundaya for Manolo Fortich.
The four sacked police officials could not be reached for comments, although Jacildo told the Malaybalay City council that he already corrected the discrepancy.
De la Torre, the provincial police director, said the total crime volume in the province increased by 44.14 percent from 4,712 in 2012 to 6,792 in
2013.
The difference of 2,080 cases mostly came from non-index crimes, which rose to 2,447 cases last year from 887 in 2012, or an increase of 176 percent, data from the provincial police office showed
Non-index crimes include crimes against persons (parricide/infanticide, maltreatment, kidnapping); crimes against property (estafa and falsification, malicious mischief and damage to property); crimes against morals and order (prostitution, vagrancy, alarm and scandal, assault/resistance to authority, corruption of public official, gambling, slander and libel, threat and coercion and trespassing); crimes against chastity (abduction, seduction, lascivious acts) and other crimes (illegal possession of firearms, explosives and ammunition, concealment of deadly weapons, smuggling, carnapping and prohibited drugs).
Index crimes, which include murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery and theft, went up 14 percent to 4,345 cases in 2013 from 3,825 in 2012, the provincial police office said.
Owing to the rising crime incidents, Gov. Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr. announced Thursday the allotment of P2 million this year as part of the reward system to curb crime cases in the area “by 35 percent.”
He warned police chiefs he would lobby for their replacement if they could not produce results in the next three months. (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)