CALL FOR COOPERATION. Philippine National Police (PNP) Eastern Visayas regional director Brig. Gen. Vincent Calanog says participation and cooperation of many sectors and levels of government and civil society are highly needed in crime prevention. In a statement on Tuesday (Sept. 5, 2023), Calanog said there is a need to identify and address the root causes of criminality, including poverty, ignorance, injustices and deteriorating moral values. (Photo courtesy of PNP)
TACLOBAN CITY – The active involvement of the community and addressing the root causes of criminality remain vital factors in crime prevention, the top officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office in Eastern Visayas said.
PNP regional director Brig. Gen. Vincent Calanoga said that while law enforcers step up crime prevention efforts, the participation and cooperation of many sectors and levels of government and civil society is highly needed.
“We must not only remove the opportunities for crime but, most especially, eradicate the will or desire to commit crime. We must identify and address the root causes of criminality, to include poverty, ignorance, injustices, and deteriorating moral values,” Calanoga said in a statement on Tuesday.
He urged the government agencies involved in National Crime Prevention Week activities to strengthen their programs to address the causes of crime.
These agencies are the National Police Commission (Napolcom), Department of Justice - Parole and Probation Administration (DOJ-PPA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), among others.
Meanwhile, during the National Crime Prevention Week kick-off in this city on Sept. 4, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez, chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), underscored adherence to the law as the key element in crime prevention.
“I also enjoined the people to establish a system of discipline in respective households in order to raise law-abiding citizens,” Romualdez added.
Every first week of September of every year is National Crime Prevention Week pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 461 issued on Aug. 31, 1994.
It directs all government agencies and their instrumentalities to evolve and implement projects and activities that focus on prevention to combat criminality.
The observance of National Crime Prevention Week will generate community awareness and appreciation of the importance and value of crime prevention and foster the interest and participation of the public. (PNA)
