To strengthen peace and order in all local government units (LGUs) amid the all-out war against illegal drugs, the Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7) urged all local executives to craft a public safety plan to protect their constituents.
DILG-7 Assistant Regional Director Elias Fernandez Jr. said the Peace and Order and Public Safety (Pops) plan of each LGU should involve crime prevention programs consistent with the needs of barangays.
He said all newly elected local executives — governors and city and municipal mayors — have to submit their three-year Pops plan to the DILG within 100 days after assumption of office. A Pops plan is composed of the following elements: review of local strategic directions or the mission and vision of the LGU; peace and order situationer of the LGU; priority public safety challenges confronting the LGU; objectives, strategies, targets, indicators and baseline data; and policies, programs, projects, services and activities recommended for the LGU.
Fernandez said local executives could lose control over their police force if they could not submit their Pops plans.