DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 14 August)—Policemen at the San Pedro station here managed to arrest three suspects of a stabbing incident Tuesday afternoon “within two minutes,” which immediately earned praise as an example of the “three-minute response time” (3MRT) implemented by the Police Regional Office – Region 11 (PRO-11).
The spot report sent to media Tuesday evening stated that the crime in front of a pet shop was reported to the San Pedro Police Station at 3:58 p.m., and the response was made at 4 p.m.
Police identified the suspects as alias “Ramel,” 33, and alias “Warren,” 37, both residents of Barangay 19-B; and alias “David,” 32, a resident of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. Police has withheld identities of the suspects as well as the victim, labelled only as alias “Tata.”
The three were suspected to have stabbed Tata following a heated altercation. Tata sustained stab wounds in the neck using a pair of scissors and a barbecue stick, the report said.
Capt. Hazel Tuazon, spokesperson of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), said that the victim is currently being treated at the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
The police spot report said that after the call to the station, a patrol was dispatched from Mobile Patrol Unit, which caught both Ramel and Warren in front of the Department of Education – Region 11 office, a two-minute ride away from the pet shop. The two suspects were caught riding a trisikad getting away from the crime scene.
Meanwhile, another police officer used a mobile patrol, then ran and apprehended David along Araullo St. in Brgy. 10-A.
The “swift” response of the police officers garnered praise both from the DCPO and the PRO-11.
Col. Hansel Marantan, acting city police director, said in a statement that the response of the police officers on duty testifies and reaffirms his “commitment to maintaining peace and order in the city and called upon the public to support these efforts for the greater good of all Dabawenyos.”
Brig. Gen. Nicolas D. Torre III, PRO-11 chief, quickly posted the arrest on his Facebook account at 4:28 p.m., or just 28 minutes after the incident was settled, expressing his apparent satisfaction and pride in the swift police response that led to the immediate capture of the suspects.
“Success story ng 3 Minute Response Time (3MRT) sa Davao City… Stabbing incident: 2 minutes response time. Huli ang suspects! (The suspects were captured!),” Torre said.
He earlier promised quicker response to crime incidents since he assumed as head of PRO-11 last June 16, and reiterated it in the wake of Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s threat that he would slap the police regional director over the latter’s three-minute response time policy.
Torre first implemented his 3MRT when he was commander of the Quezon City Police District.
In the fourth episode of “Basta Dabawenyo” on Duterte’s Facebook page “CM Baste Duterte” last July 28, the mayor criticized Torre over the three-minute response time order and even threatened “to slap” the police official.
“Isa ka bulan siya dire, sige daw unsay nabuhat sa three-minute response. (He’s been here for a month, tell me, what has the three-minute response achieved so far?) Has anything changed?” he said. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)