MARTIAL LAW. Police personnel inspect vehicles passing through a checkpoint in one of the entry and exit points of General Santos City. Police authorities in Soccsksargen will leave the decision to top officials of the Philippine National Police whether it should recommend the lifting of the prevailing martial law in Mindanao. (File photo courtesy of the city police)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Police authorities in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) will leave the decision to top officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) whether or not to recommend the lifting of martial law in Mindanao.
Lt. Col. Lino Capellan, public information officer of Police Regional Office (PRO) 12, said Friday they were waiting for the completion of the assessment being conducted by the national headquarters regarding the overall peace and order situation in Mindanao.
Capellan said they earlier sent to Camp Crame the data needed for the ongoing evaluation.
“As PNP members on the ground, we will just have to wait for our commanders to decide on that. Our part is to provide the correct data for them to decide,” he said in an interview.
Capellan said their records showed that the number of crime incidents in Soccsksargen has continued to drop since President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in May 2017.
Crime volume in the region decreased by 32.64 percent in 2017, 30.06 percent in 2018, and 27.04 percent as of November 12 this year.
“This only shows that the prevailing martial law has a significant impact on the maintenance of peace and order in the region,” Capellan said.
He credited the accomplishment to the establishment of more checkpoints in strategic areas, the intensified operations against suspected terrorists, as well as the sustained war against illegal drugs and criminality.
“The region has been generally peaceful so far and we’re doing our best to maintain that situation,” he added. (PNA)
