New Baguio police chief ordered to stop jueteng

By Aileen P. Refuerzo      

BAGUIO CITY – Regional police director Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong has ordered new city police chief Jesus Cambay to stop illegal gabling like jueteng in the city.  

Magalong issued the order during last Monday’s City Hall flag-raising ceremonies where Cambay was presented as the new city police chief.

“Address the increasing robbery and theft cases.  We must do our best to neutralize these crime groups and syndicates to aggressively pursue them without let-up,” Magalong said.               

Magalong also advised Cambay to provide leadership which he said has been lacking in the city organization and to protect the interest of the organization against political influence.

He emphasized the need for transparency and community cooperation to succeed in leading the police department.

“We should ensure that all crimes are reported because no good anti-crime program will come out if it is based on false data,” Magalong said as he revealed that more than 2,000 crimes were not reported by the city police office from January to July 2012 while a number was also withheld last year.

“You should report true data to come up with accurate anti-crime strategies.  The worst offense that a police department can make is to deceive the public.  Let us be very transparent,” he stressed.

Magalong said Cambay should also zero in on sustaining good community-police relations.  “Talk to the officials, talk to the community, to the civil society groups and listen to them.”

Magalong also challenged Cambay to intensify campaign against all forms of illegal gambling and to focus on jueteng.  “I want more arrests and more cases failed and I want that by November, jueteng will cease to exist.”

Magalong also asked Cambay to sustain the initiatives of the PNP-CAR along with the innovations being pursued to address the peace and order problems in the region.

This, as Mayor Mauricio Domogan directed Cambay to curb the incidence of crimes against property which have risen to an alarming rate in the past year.

The mayor conferred with the new police chief and the commanders of the various police stations to iron out strategies to maintain peace and order in the city.

The mayor said Cambay submitted his proposed programs to address peace and order concerns in the city which included the intensified imposition of laws for environmental protection.

The mayor conveyed his desire for the local police to prioritize the neutralization of crimes against property particularly theft, robbery and hold-up cases which he said have shot up and reached the same level as crimes against persons.

Cambay in his response vowed to take on the task of leading the Baguio’s Finest with “serbisyong may pagkukusa” or service with initiative.

“I am asking my fellow policemen to toe the line with me to practice serbisyong may pagkukusa.  It is a tall order for us to lead the police department but with dedication and cooperation of the community, we can do it,” Cambay said.