Binay reiterates request for more cops following Buendia robbery

MANILA, Philippines - Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay on Wednesday reiterated his earlier call to the Philippine National Police to beef-up the city’s police force in the wake of Monday morning's robbery of a 66-year-old messenger in Barangay Palanan.

Binay said the incident serves as a reason for the urgency of his request for more policemen to be deployed to the country’s financial center.

The mayor said he has not received any response to date from Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima, whom he wrote almost two weeks ago to request for the deployment of additional policemen to the city.

Last Monday, messenger Celadonio Carcedo was walking along Gil Puyat Avenue near Marconi Street, when an unidentified male suspect forcibly took the bag he was carrying and shot him in the leg when he resisted.

The still-unidentified suspect got away on board a motorcycle driven by a male cohort, taking with him some P100,000 in cash contained in the bag that the victim was about to deposit in a nearby bank.

A Makati Rescue team gave the victim first aid treatment and brought him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared in stable condition. Both suspects remain at- large.

Binay said he hopes the PNP leadership would act on his request with dispatch to address rising criminality in Makati and provide enough protection to its residents, investors and other stakeholders day and night.

“Criminals are getting bolder and more ruthless for they know they can easily get away even in broad daylight, just like the perpetrators who shot and robbed a helpless pedestrian in a busy thoroughfare in Makati last Monday,” Binay said.

Binay also lamented that crimes happening with impunity in Makati may seriously dampen investor confidence in the entire country, given the city’s predominant stature as the center of trade and commerce where major financial institutions and multinational corporations are located.

Binay pointed out that the city police force consisting only of 560 uniformed personnel is “grossly inadequate” to protect some 529,039 residents at nighttime.

“The disparity becomes even more pronounced during daytime when our population balloons to over four million because of workers, traders, students, tourists and shoppers who flock to the Central Business District,” Binay said.

At present, the ratio of police to Makati’s nighttime population is 1:945 (one policeman for 945 persons), while police to daytime population is 1:10,714 (one policeman for 10,714 persons).

Binay  also cited the admission of Makati City Police chief, Sr. Supt. Manuel Lukban that with the current size of the police force, they have been unable to curb street crimes, such as the robbery-holdup last Monday.

"Coming from the police chief himself, this statement should be taken seriously," Binay said.