• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Manhunt operations against wanted persons in Negros Occidental resulted in the arrest of 228 individuals with pending arrest warrants for the month of June, a report of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 showed.
These included 23 apprehended by Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO), who were classified as most wanted persons (MWPs), and 166 others tagged as other wanted persons (OWPs).
The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) accounted for six MWPs and 33 OWPs.
All over Western Visayas, the PRO-6 reported the arrest of 469 wanted persons during 364 operations for the month of June.
A total of 89 were classified as MWPs while 380 were tagged as OWPs.
“This is evidence that no wanted person can hide for life. Time will come that they will be reached by the long arm of the law and be held accountable for the offenses they’ve committed. Thus, to the remaining wanted persons who are still hiding, surrender to the authorities and face your charges,” PBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, police regional director of Western Visayas, said in a statement.
NOCPPO has the highest number of arrests with 189, which is equivalent to 40.29 percent of the total arrests, followed by Iloilo PPO with 113, and BCPO, 39.
Meanwhile, the month-long anti-illegal gambling campaign in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City resulted in the apprehension of 279 violators.
Some 230 were accounted for by NOCPPO while 49 were arrested by BCPO.
PLt. Col. Arnel Solis, police regional spokesperson, said that in the entire region, the crackdown on illegal gambling led to the apprehension of 358 suspects and the recovery of P159,000 in cash bets.
NOCPPO logged the highest number of apprehensions with 230 or 64.24 percent of the total arrests, followed by BCPO with 49, and Iloilo PPO, 25.
Aklan and Antique PPOs arrested 14 illegal gambling suspects each; Capiz PPO, 13; Iloilo City Police Office, 7; and Guimaras PPO, 6.
“These arrests show that our efforts do not only focus on illegal drugs and wanted persons. All forms of illegal activities are strictly watched and if evidence warrants, those involved will be subjected to law enforcement operations,” Wanky said. | GB
