Abra execs sign pact

BY DEXTER A. SEE

BANGUED, Abra – Various sectors in this capital town vowed to work for lasting peace through the adaption of an agreement for the establishment of the Barangay Proactive Security Program (BPSP).

The signing of the agreement among the municipal government of Bangued, the barangay peace and order councils, and the local police force was witnessed by Senior Supt. Alexander A. Pumecha, director of the Abra Provincial Police Office and Senior Supt. Joseph C. Adnol of the regional community relations division of the Cordillera police regional office.

The mechanics of the operationalization of BPSP was discussed by Adnol, while the role of members of the Barangay Peace and Order Councils was presented by Carlito Barrera of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

In his presentation, Adnol cited the role of every citizen in crime prevention.

But he cited the importance of the BPSP, which is tasked to conduct patrol, intelligence and public service, saying that every citizen has the right of protection by the police.

The barangay tanods, he said, simply serve as the eyes and ears in the local communities.

He also said that they should report immediately to the police any crime committed, adding that police service is available 24 hours a day.

The organization of the BPSP is in response to the growing unpopularity of Abra as a violent province.

Abra has been tagged as a “war zone” in the Cordilleras due to the high crime volume in the province.

The province accounts for almost 50 percent of the total crime volume in the region. These are mostly crimes against person, either murder or homicide.

In closing the conference, Mayor Dominique Valera of Bangued called on participants, mostly barangay captains, barangay tanods, members of the barangay justice system, to help local police forces in the campaign to attain a low crime rate in Bangued.