Poe hails arrest of fugitive with PNP’s upgraded records system
Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, yesterday commended the Philippine National Police (PNP) for successfully arresting one of the biggest robbery and car theft suspects in the country with the help of an upgraded records system.
Poe, who has been conducting public hearings on various PNP modernization bills, said she was hopeful PNP Chief Director General Ricardo Marquez would be able to succeed in his plan to develop a national police clearance system where the electronic files and records of criminals would be consolidated under his term.
During the Senate hearings, Poe raised the need for the PNP to modernize its equipment and facilities, as well as provide additional benefits for its uniformed and non-uniformed personnel.
Because of a computerized records system, the senator noted the PNP was able to capture Edgar Tuazon who is allegedly a leader of a notorious robbery and car theft ring.
Tuazon was arrested while he was applying for a police clearance at the Pasig City police station on August 27.
The policemen, who nabbed the fugitive, noticed that Tuazon has been the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the San Juan City Regional Trial Court Branch 10 on September 30, 1996.
This, she said, proved the effectiveness of a computerized system not only in the easy access of information but also in crime prevention.
“Mr. Tuazon was able to elude arrest for almost 19 years but thanks to the vigilance of our policemen and the effectiveness of an automated records system, the law has finally caught up with him,” said Poe in a statement.
Poe said she still expected an even better police database with an information-sharing system being worked out by the PNP with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“We have to take advantage of the advances in technology to strengthen our campaign against crime,” the senator said.