• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The month-long manhunt operations against fugitives in Negros Occidental, including the highly-urbanized Bacolod City, led to the arrest of 291 wanted persons in January.
In a report, the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO 6) said 51 of them were classified as most wanted persons (MWPs) while the 240 others as other wanted persons (OWPs).
MWPs are people who are being sought for serious crimes while OWPs are people being sought for lesser crimes.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) arrested 22 MWPs and 229 OWPs while the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) apprehended 29 MWPs and 11 OWPs, according to the report.
Both NOCPPO and BCPO are still under the supervision of PRO-6, pending the crafting of implementing guidelines for the creation of Negros Island Region (NIR) Police Office, following establishment of the NIR last year.
All over the region, the PRO-6 arrested 514 wanted persons, of which 70 are MWPs and 444 others are OWPs.
PBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, police regional director of Western Visayas, commended the hardwork and commitment of the police personnel involved in the operations and their commanders for providing the right direction and guidance to ensure that the objectives are attained.
“As we continuously look for the remaining wanted persons in the region, we will tighten our ties with the different stakeholders to ensure their immediate arrests,” he added. | GB
