PNP puts ‘buddy system’ in place to check use of shotguns
LINGAYEN—A “buddy system” between a police officer and the barangay kapitan who has been issued a shotgun has been instituted by the provincial police for purposes of maintaining peace and order in their communities.
“This integrated, community-based approach to maintain peace has served as a deterrent to crime and generated instantaneous response to lawlessness,” Police Provincial Director Percival Barba said.
Although he did not elaborate, observers noted that the “buddy system” is in fact a monitoring scheme to enable policemen to keep track of the barangay officials’ use and handling of the shotguns.
Some 1,330 barangay captains throughout Pangasinan were issued pump shotguns by the provincial government.
Governor Amado Espino Jr. recently announced that the issuance of the shotguns was the responsibility of the provincial police and not his office. His disavowal came months after he personally, not the police, handed the shot-guns to some barangays chairmen and justified the distribution in front of the local media.
Barba said he has deployed 711 each police-men to partner with either a specific barangay chairman or a cluster of punong barangay.
“Maganda ang nagiging bunga ng samahang ito. Dati-rati parang ilag ang pulis at mga kapitan sa isa’t-isa. Ngayon naging maganda na ang samahan, magkaibigan na sila at nagtutulungan sa pangangasiwa ng katahimikan sa kani-kanilang lugar,” Barba said.
The following is the distribution of police buddy enforcers in various districts: 115 in 1st district; 122 in 2nd district; 139 in 3rd district; 76 in 4th district, 111 in 5th district; and 148 in 6th district.
At the same time, Barba attributed the lesser crimes recorded by the police in October to the shotguns distributed by the provincial government to the barangay chairmen.
Barba said 200 crimes were recorded in September and the number has gone down to 150 in October.
In Sta. Barbara town, Mayor Reynaldo Velasco, a retired police deputy director general, partly credited the shotguns in the hands of his barangay chairmen for the eradication of cattle rustling in his town.
“Time will come when the critics of the shotgun program will realize that the shotguns have been helping the police force a lot to maintain peace and order in our province,” Barba said.—LM
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