BAGUIO CITY January 03 – The leadership of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) disclosed the celebration of the Yuletide season here was generally peaceful amidst the influx of thousands of visitors.
BCPO City Director Police Col. Allen Rae F. Co said there were no reported high profile crimes in the different police stations based in strategic areas around the city during the Christmas and New Year that allowed the local police force to conclude that the celebration was generally peaceful, except for sone isolate incidents.
He claimed the country’s police force remains on heightened alert until such time that there are orders from higher headquarters to the contrary.
The police official asserted the deployment of the city police force, especially in strategic places in the city, will remain until the heightened alert status of the PNP will be downgraded to help maintain the smooth flow of traffic and the peace in the city.
However, Co admitted one of the noticeable problems documented by the local police force in the city during the Christmas eve and Christmas Day was traffic in identified choke points in some parts of the city primarily because of the influx of tourists with them their vehicles.
According to him, traffic enforcers made sure traffic in most parts of the city was moving to lessen the inconvenience of both residents and tourists.
The BCPO chief appealed to both residents and tourists to cooperate with the stringent anti-criminality, peacekeeping and traffic management measures currently being implemented along major roadlines to help reduce the impact of the traffic congestion and deter the occurrence of crimes.
He declined to issue a comment on the current trend of crimes in the city.
He explained that what is evident is there has been a continuous down trend in the crime volume in the city over the past three quarters, thus, he expressed confidence there will be a continuous reduction of crimes for the whole year.**By Dexter A. See
