LINGAYEN—Police Provincial Director Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte reported to the provincial board that the peace and order situation in Pangasinan today is better than last year.

Appearing before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) on September 5, Ricaforte said based on the report of all police stations from January 1 to August 31 this year, “this points to a generally peaceful, stable and manageable situation”.

Some SP members were unconvinced but the police chief told media after that, “I can defend my report in Plaza Miranda.”

SP members pointed to the number of killings being reported regularly by the media, with victims including lawyers, a school principal, an engineer and several barangay officials.

Ricaforte said the crime against persons decreased from 205 last year to 131 this year and the crime against property from 1,500 last year to 933 this year.

Sixth District Board Member Alfonso Bince Jr., a lawyer, noted that the statistics submitted by Ricaforte indicate that there were 20 killings and 130 crimes against property recorded monthly in Pangasinan from January to August this year.

Saying the situation is still alarming, Bince cited in particular the killing of Atty. Leonardo Jimenez Jr., a retired regional director of the National Bureau of Investigation from Aguilar town last month which remains unsolved.

Ricaforte said investigators are still facing a blank wall in their investigation into the case because the nurse who was identified to have seen the suspects can only identify half of the face of the gunman and another witness, a vulcanize shop helper, refused to cooperate with investigators, possibly for fear of his life.

Ricaforte, on the other hand, cited the slaying of retired Judge Corazon Merrera in Dagupan City, also last month, which is now solved with the arrest and the filing of charges against her house helpers who admitted perpetrating the crime.

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He added that the decrease in number of crimes was achieved through the Police Integrated Patrol Systems which ensured that most of the policemen were out in the streets, the setting up of checkpoints, intensification of the application of search warrants, implementation of “Operation Bakal”, Oplan “Sita” and Oplan “Kalapati”.

Ricaforte stressed that these were achieved even if the existing police-people ratio in Pangasinan is one policeman for every 1,500 citizens, far from the ideal ratio of 1 to every 500.

Ricaforte tagged Infanta and Anda as the most peaceful towns of Pangasinan but could not say, however, which is the least peaceful.

Fourth District SP Member Jeremy Rosario questioned Ricaforte on whether the entries in his report passed through the process of verification and validation by independent bodies.

Otherwise, Rosario said, the report could merely be self-serving.

A member of Rosario’s staff was murdered in broad daylight in his own town of Manaoag and the case remains unsolved.

“I welcome the validation of this report by your office, your honor,” Ricaforte replied to Rosario, adding that he could discuss the progress report on the slaying of the latter’s staff in an executive session in order not to jeopardize their investigation of the case.

Third District SP Member Angel Baniqued, for his part, noted that of the 125 shooting incidents registered this year, 33 were perpetrated by motorcycle men riding in tandem.

He was appeased by Ricaforte’s reply that some of the tandem-riding killers were already arrested and are now behind bars.

Ricaforte told newsmen his office already has the names of other suspected guns-for-hire who are now being relentlessly hunted by the police.

Like SP Member Rosario, 2^nd District SP Member Von Mark Mendoza sought the holding of an executive session to hear points which Ricaforte cannot discuss with members of the media around.

Mendoza said he wanted to check with Ricaforte a report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency that tagged Pangasinan as the illegal drug capital of Region 1.

Board Member Mojamito Libunao, meanwhile, said though he is happy about the performance of Ricaforte and wants him to give another report after five months to find out if crimes have decreased.

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