Atienza orders tougher police action vs robberies

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza directed the Western Police District yesterday to take a "proactive" stance against criminal elements in the wake of a spate of robberies in various parts of the city.

"You cannot just wait for victims to report a crime before you act. You have to take a proactive stance and go after these criminal groups. Prevention is the key," Atienza told Senior Superintendent Nicolas Pasinos, acting Western Police District (WPD) director.

In a press statement, Atienza expressed concern over the spate of car thefts and holdup incidents, particularly in the areas of Quiapo and Malate.

Over the weekend, four holdup incidents were reported to the WPD headquarters. The first involved 37-year-old Gamar Tamar, who was divested of P200,000 in cash last Saturday by four armed men on board a gray Honda Civic at Pablo Casal street near the Ayala Bridge.

At about 12:45 a.m. Sunday, two employees of Philamlife Insurance Corp. were held up at United Nations Avenue and were divested of P19,000 in cash.

In separate occasions Sunday morning, jeepney passengers were held up by men armed with guns and knives and were divested of their money and jewelry at Taft Avenue.

Also last Friday evening, lawyer Reden Viaje was victimized by members of a "Bukas Kotse" gang in front of the Century Park Sheraton Hotel.

At about 12 midnight, Viaje discovered that the front side window of his Land Rover, which he parked in front of the hotel, was forced open.

Among the items taken by the robbers were Viaje’s leather attaché case, a car stereo and other valuable personal items. Prior to the incident, a coed enrolled at the hotel’s gym was held up in broad daylight near the hotel by two knife-wielding men.

"This is unacceptable. The continued success of our program to revive Manila would be severely affected by incidents like these because it is predicated on the assurance that citizens can walk our streets anytime without fear of being victimized by criminal elements," Atienza said.

He ordered Pasinos to deploy police teams, especially in what could now be considered "high-risk" areas, to augment the regular police mobile and foot patrols.

"I want substantial results, the sooner the better. We have to maintain at all costs the high degree of public confidence on our police force that we have been to develop over the past few years," Atienza ordered.