Gov. Pineda and Pampanga police chief Sr. Supt. Tinio (left) join regional chaplain Supt. Ruben Espeno in the blessing of the “quick-response” truck turned over by the governor to the police on Monday. Photo by Ric Gonzales
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Lilia Pineda on Monday turned over a P1.8 million “quick-response” truck to the Pampanga police to curb criminality and prevent in Pampanga the heinous robbery-murder cases recently committed in Marikina City and Laguna province.
Pineda said she had supported the 1,058-strong Pampanga Police Office (PPO) “since day one” of her governorship as part of her desire to drastically limit all forms of crimes in the province.
“We should be alarmed by the return of Akyat-Bahay gangs in our communities. We should find solutions and learn to trust and help the police,” said Pineda in the dialect.
Pampanga police director Senior Supt. Edgardo Tinio said the brand-new truck will allow the PPO-SWAT team to respond quickly in cases needing immediate action.
Tinio said Pineda had assisted the police units in the 19 towns and the component cities of Mabalacat and San Fernando. He added that the first-term governor had given police vehicles, gears and communications equipment.
“There are so many (donations from the governor) I lost count. I asked my people to gather all information to come out with the complete list,” said Tinio, who was interviewed at the annual inspection of his command by the PNP headquarters.
He and Pineda regularly meet officials and security personnel in the more than 500 barangays of the province to underscore the importance of cooperation between police and citizens to limit crimes.
For her part, Pineda said she “could only do so much, but a better-equipped police can stop or prevent crimes more effectively.”
Tinio said that the number of crimes in the first six months of 2012 had gone down compared to last year. He could not provide the figures yet as of press time.
