Snatchings involving minors rampant in AC red-light area

ANGELES CITY --- A police official has expressed alarm over the increasing incidents of snatchings involving teenagers in the city's entertainment district in Barangay Balibago.

Police Captain Elaine Villasis, public information officer of the Angeles City Police Office (ACPO), disclosed this during Wednesday's Talk Widus forum hosted by the Pampanga Press Club (PPC) in cooperation with the Widus Hotel and Casino.

An anti-drug operations conducted by the city police recently led to the arrest of three suspected pushers using minors in robbery particularly in snatching of foreigners' cellphones and wallets.

"Rampant yung snatching ng mga bata sa area ng Balibago and then na find out namin na yung mga batang malilit na ito na nang-iisnatch ay mayroon silang pinagdadalhan ng mga cellphones (Snatching done by children is rampant and we found out where they bring the cellphones) ," Villasis.

Children arrested for theft are being turned over to the City Social Welfare and Development Office, according to the officer.

In response to this, Vicky Barbea B. Dela Torre, Commission on Population Central Luzon assistant regional director, that there will be a better society if there is "responsible parenting."

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With the trajectory of development of San Simon in the past decade, Canlas said he is seeing the strong potential of this municipality to meet the requirements and be converted as the next component city.

Among the three requirements for a municipality to be converted into a city, it needs to have a land area of at least 100 square kilometers, population of at least 250,000 and a minimum of P200million local annual income for two consecutive years.

According to Canlas, the local income of San Simon surged from P20million in 2001 when he first assumed post as local chief executive, to P220million today as outgoing Mayor Leonora Wong is about to step down.

“Since the programs and projects for development were sustained for the past 17 years through my leadership and Mayor Wong, the progress of San Simon is undeniable and the huge increase in the local income from P20million to P220-million is big testament to that,” he said.

While it already reached the requirement for local income, San Simon is yet to meet the needed population and land area as it only has a population of 53,198 people, and land area of 57.37 square kilometers, before it can be converted to a component city.

Canlas is still optimistic that the cityhood of San Simon is within reach given its bustling economy brought about by the influx of local and foreign investors in town.

“Local and foreign investors have been choosing San Simon, particularly areas along Quezon Road which was constructed during my term, as a place