ANGELES CITY — Mayor Francis "Blueboy" Nepomuceno and the police should re-study the peace and order situation in the city to limit crimes following the strafing incident near the Pampang Public Market (PPM) here on Wednesday, a village chief said.
Salapungan Barangay Captain Robert Yeen urged Nepomuceno to request for additional policemen "as a tool to drastically limit crimes which derail economic growth."
"It’s about time the the mayor and his people gave a hard look on our (village chiefs’) proposal to assign one or two cops in every village particularly at night time to reinforce patrolling barangay tanods," said Yeen.
City Police Director Sr. Supt. Pierre Bucsit, in phone interview, said "the lack of police personnel is a nationwide problem."
He added "that it seems we have the least number of cops compared to the population in Central Luzon."
Bucsit disclosed that the Angeles City Police Office (ACPO) is composed of about 400 personnel.
The ratio is one cop to 1,850 people. There are about 800,000 residents in the city. The ideal worldwide ratio is one cop to 500 people.
Bucsit said they had discussed the lack of manpower at the ACPO at Camp Olivas, He expressed confidence "that in five years time, it will be resolved and we will have enough policemen."
Councilor Jay Sangil, for his part, said Nepomuceno "should be hands-on mayor in the city governance so that there will be true peace and order in Angeles."
Meanwhile, Bucsit said business rivalry could be the motive behind the strafing of the Honey Bee Fruits and Vegatables store in Barangay Pampang. He added that they sell "much cheaper goods in the store" earning the ire of the suspects in the shooting incident.