PNP: CRIME DOWN 12% IN CEBU

DESPITE RASH OF KILLINGS, WHICH ARE UNSOLVED

Solve those high-profile murders in Cebu, Gov. Hilario Davide III asked top police officials when the Provincial Peace and Order Council met yesterday.

But official records show fewer crimes were committed this year than last year in Cebu: from more than 9,600 cases in January-July 2017, to about 8,500 in same months this year.

Still, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III asks the police during the Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting to solve the killings, reassure community that “peace and order is there for our business owners and ordinary citizens”

Solve high-profile murders in Cebu.

This was the plea Gov. Hilario Davide III made when he met with police officials during the third quarterly Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting yesterday.

Davide made the call following a series of unsolved murders in Cebu, most of these perpetrated by motorcycle-riding assailants.

Officials of the Cebu Provin- cial Police Office (CPPO) admitted that while their investigation on the unsolved murders continues, no case has been filed against the perpetrators yet.

But overall, fewer crimes were committed this year than last year, an official said.

Based on the CPPO’s comparative report from January to July this year, the total crime volume in the Province reached 8,534 cases, which is 11.98 percent lower than in the same period last year, when 9,695 cases were recorded.

Senior Supt. Manuel Abrugena, CPPO director, told Davide that police are “gaining headway” in their investigations on two cases.

Davide has asked for updates on the investigations on the attacks that killed Barangay Lagtang, Talisay City Councilor Art Stephen Bas and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 agent Von Rian Tecson.

Bas, 23, was shot dead by three motorcycle-riding men while he was driving his car on the Cebu South Coastal Road in Talisay City last month. His killers remain unidentified. Earlier this month, Tecson was riding his car and heading for his house in Carcar when he was also ambushed by motorcycle-riding men.

“I wanted to know the status of these two cases as we want to know if the culprits have been identified. There have been concerns that the failure to solve these killings could affect peace and order in Cebu and could potentially turn off investors. I just want to ensure that peace and order is there for our business owners and ordinary citizens,” Davide said.