Police Colonel Ireneo B. Dalogdog, City Director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) | CDN Digital/ Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The head of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) disclosed that there was a significant decrease in the number of crime incidents recorded in the first quarter of 2024 compared to last year.
“We are happy na sa first quarter of this year, icompare nimo sa previous year, nagbaba gyud atong crime incidents, especially sa 8 focus crimes,” stated Police Colonel Irene Dalogdog, CCPO director.
Data from the CCPO showed that from the 3,333 crime incidents in Cebu City from January 1 to May 13, 2023, the number dropped by 83.08 percent, with 2,769 crimes in the same period this year.
Authorities also recorded a total of 313 incidents of the 8 focus crimes in Cebu City. This number is 10.1 percent less compared to the 348 incidents in 2023.
Authorities also recorded a total of 313 incidents of the 8 focus crimes in Cebu City. This number is 10.1 percent less compared to the 348 incidents in 2023.
In Cebu City, there were 154 theft incidents, 64 physical injury incidents, 40 robberies, 24 murders, 17 rapes, 10 car-napping incidents, and 4 homicides from January to May 13.
Based on the peace and order indicator, non-index crimes also decreased to 1,976 from 1,929 incidents in the first quarter of 2023.
For crimes against persons, there were 109 incidents compared to 123 recorded last year. Meanwhile, the number of crimes against property dropped from 225 last year to 204 this year.
In addition, there was a 37.5 percent decrease in the number of vehicular/traffic incidents, with 660 incidents recorded. In the same period last year, there were 1,056 incidents on the roads of Cebu City.
According to Dalogdog, one of the factors contributing to this decrease in the number of crimes in Cebu City is the effective police visibility.
He added that the drop in focus crimes shows that their strategy of adjusting the deployment of personnel to crime-prone areas when needed is effective. Dalogdog named Barangay Mambaling as an example, where personnel were deployed to remote areas during a time when various shooting incidents occurred.
“Diha-diha dayon, atong gi-aksyonan. Ang atong mga TMRU Tactical Motorcycle-Riding Unit, ato silang gipadala didto mag-visibility didto sa mga remote areas para gyud masugpo kining sunod sunod nga shooting incidents. Pero so far, wala na,” he said.
After assuming office as acting mayor of Cebu City, Raymond Alvin Garcia met with police personnel in the city at a command conference on Tuesday, May 14.
Dalogdog relayed that Garcia emphasized the need to increase police visibility to make locals and tourists feel secure while staying in the city.
“Actually, ginabuhat na gyud nato na kanang police presence or police visibility. So isa na siya sa mando pud sa atoang regional director diri sa Police Regional Office 7, si Police Brigadier General Anthony Abellana Aberin, nga kinahanglan, aside sa kaning police presence, police visibility, ma-feel sa community ang presence sa atong mga kapulisan. Kinahanglan lang estoryahon,” stated Dalogdog.
“Ang gusto sa atoang acting mayor, Honorable Raymond Alvin Garcia, na kinahanglan ato gyung ipa-igting og maayo ang kining police visibility para gyud ma-feel sa mga Sugboanons nga safe sila habang naa sila diri sa Cebu City ug kadtong tourists nga mobisita diri,” he added.
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