THE PERFORMANCE OF THE LEGAZPI CITY POLICE STATION IN

RENDERING POLICE SERVICES CALENDAR YEAR 2014-2016

BY

BORLAZA, REZEL B.

ETCOBANEZ, MA. KIEL PATRICIA R.

PINTOR, TRIXIA LULU B.

AB Political Science III-B

DECEMBER 06, 2016

 CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

“Law enforcement officers are never off duty. They are dedicated public servants who are

sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened.

They need all the help that they can get. - Barbara Boxer”

Introduction

The noble words, “To Serve and Protect” summarizes the core mission of the

Philippine National Police which is to render police services to the public in

order to ensure that there will be peace and order in the community. Maintaining

peace and order in a society is one way to protect the public from any harm or

danger. Safety and security of the individuals in the society is of paramount

concern. However, though endowed with authority, the police force is also facing

several problems in enforcing the laws especially because of their broad duties

and functions.

The functions of the police are incredibly complex. The total range of police

responsibilities are wide in scope. Their tasks are interconnected that their

separation seems impossible. Conflicts arising among different functions cannot

be easily solved. That is why according to Herman Goldstein, anyone attempting

to construct a workable definition of the police role will typically come away with

old images shattered and with a newfound appreciation for the intricacies of

police work.1

Crime prevention, crime responsiveness, anti-terrorism and anti-communist

insurgencies, environmental protection, patrol and proactive policing, law

enforcement and community relations are some of the police functions and

government campaigns that the police force are involved in executing and

implementing.

For the functions of the police to be properly executed, there is a need for a

well-organized police force which can provide adequate presence as a

preemptive measure against the commission of crime as well as efficient police

services. Philippine police history has shown efforts to match the demand for

police visibility with adequate personnel.

Crime is a substantial concern especially in urban areas of the Philippines.

According to the Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and

Detective Management (PNP-DIDM), Theft, Physical Assault, and Robbery were

the most common crimes reported to local authorities in 2015. Other common

criminal acts include: Pick-pocketing, Confidence Schemes, and Credit Card

Fraud. Carjacking, Kidnappings, and violent assaults also occur sporadically. 2

Similarly, most of the crimes that are happening in the communities are

drug-related. That’s why when we focused our resources and attention on the

drug problem, other crimes dropped.

Amidst the intensified anti-illegal drug campaign, the number of crimes

recorded as of November, last month across the country dropped by about 49

percent compared to last year, according to Philippine National Police (PNP)

Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa.

A Malacanñ ang official has said that the decreasing crime rate registered from

July 2015 to July 2016 is proof that the administration’s war against illegal drugs

and criminality has been effective.3

 The Bicol Region known simply as Bicol is a region of the Philippines

designated as Region V which comprises six provinces, four on the Bicol

Peninsula mainland - Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon –

and the offshore island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.

Bicol’s total crime volume for the first seven months decreased by 22.2

percent compared to last year’s — from 46,572 cases last year down to 36,234

this year 2016, the PNP records show.

On the other side of the equation, the Bicol PNP posted an impressive

increase in crime solution efficiency of 41.01 percent compared to last year’s

25.54 percent or an improvement of 15.47 percentage points. Its crime clearance

efficiency, likewise, increased by 14.87 percent, from 47.28 percent to 62.15

percent.

The province of Albay is part of the Bicol Region. It had the second highest

crime volume in the region, topped robbery incidents with 220. It also had 32

murder cases, 67 cases of homicide, 1,286 cases of physical injury, 116 rape

cases, 820 thefts, 21 carnapping cases, and 7 cases of cattle rustling. Its non-

index crimes stood at 5,331 cases.4

The capital city of Albay is the most populous city in Bicol Region having a

population of 196,639 according to the 2015 census. It is one of the centers of

tourism, education, health services, commerce and transportation in the Bicol

Region.

Legazpi was recognized as the most business-friendly city in Southern Luzon

in 2007 by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2014, the city
was ranked second among the top three livable cities in the Philippines in the

Livable Cities Design Challenge organized by the National Competitiveness

Council (NCC) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. In 2016, Legazpi was

named overall third most competitive component city in the Philippines by

the National Competitiveness Council. The city also has a fast-growing tourism

industry with focus on adventure tourism.

In terms of crime incidence in the city of Legazpi, the intensified campaign of

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte against crimes and illegal drugs has greatly

helped reduce the number of index crime in Legazpi City, according to the newly

installed city police chief, Insp. Errol Garchitorena.

According to Legazpi City Police Chief Insp. Errol Garchitorena, the number

of index crime recorded from April to August 2016 shows a significant decrease

of 57% from that of the total index crime recorded in 2015. This can be

attributed to the intensified campaign of our President and the hard work of the

Policemen in fighting crimes and illegal drugs. He made the report for period

April to August 2016 during the joint meeting of the City Peace and order Council

(CPOC) and City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) presided by the Legazpi City

Mayor Noel Rosal.

A total of ninety-six (96) index crime were recorded from April – August

2016. This data is one hundred twenty-six (126) or 57% lower than the two

hundred twenty-two (222) index crime recorded in the same period of 2015. Out

of the ninety-six (96) index crime recorded from April to August 2016, 35 cases

or 36% are theft incidents, making it the most committed index crime for the
period. Robbery and physical injury ranked second with 19 cases each

accounting to 40% combined, followed by 13 cases of rape or almost 14% of the

total index crime. Carnapping accounts to almost 4% of the total index crime

with four cases recorded while murder and homicide both has three (3) cases or

6% combined.

For the implementation of Project Double Barrel, a total of 2,381 voluntary

drug surrenderees since July 1, 2016, of which 2,135 or 90% are users and 244

are pushers. For the users, 201 or 9% are watchlisted and 1,934 or 91% are

newly identified while for pushers, 54 or 22% are watchlisted while the

remaining 190 or 78% are newly identified. Chief Insp. Garchitorena also bared

that also among the surrenderees are elected barangay officials and barangay

tanods. Out of 834 target houses to be visited for Operation Tokhang, 504 people

were already visited from July 1 – September 5, of which 296 or 35%

surrendered, 84 or 10% arrested and are now on jail and 1 killed. Among the top

drug personalities arrested are Brgy. Rizal councilor Ronnie Abunda Ventura

considered as high value target, Jury Tupase Nares of Guinobatan who ranked

2nd in Guinobatan police watchlist, and Christian Bahoy Barcelon of Victory

Village and Rodolfo Bahoy ranked 10th in Legazpi police priotiy target.

However, non-index crime increased by 14% with 993 cases recorded for the

period April to August 2016 compared to 870 cases recorded for the same period

in 2015, with traffic and vehicular accidents mainly contributing to the increase.

According to Chief Insp. Garchitorena, the city police recorded 504 traffic and

vehicular accidents in 2015 which rose by 15% or 77 cases this year noting that

this will be addressed through increased checkpoints and intensified flag down
of violations. Furthermore, crime solution efficiency raised to 32% wherein 351

cases were considered solved out of 1,089 crime volume recorded. Crime

Clearance Efficiency for the period is likewise higher at 93% having cleared 1015

cases out of the total crime volume recorded.5

Therefore, with the above-mentioned data, police services in the city are

indeed, important to maintain peace and order not only for the welfare of its

residents but as a vital factor necessary for promoting safety and security,

economic growth, social and political stability.

The police force and its services is a necessity for the establishment of a

better and safe city of Legazpi. Police visibility and the effectiveness of its

services as law enforcers are vital in the security and stability of the city. Thus,

the police must always ensure that the services they are rendering are not just

mere services, but quality and efficient police services.

It is imperative therefore, that the level of performance of the Legazpi City

Police Station in rendering the basic police services be assessed. By doing such,

possible weak areas might be identified and be provided remedies accordingly.

The researchers were inspired to choose the topic, the Level of Performance

of Legazpi City Police Station in Rendering Police Services, in the conduct of their

study for the following reasons: (1) As concerned students and residents of

Legazpi City, the researchers felt the need to assess first-hand the level of

performance of the police in rendering police services because this is an

important issue especially in this term of President Rodrigo Duterte; (2) As

political science students and as the researchers think that this is an avenue in
which we can apply the knowledge we attained, especially in terms of public

administration; (3) the crime incidences that are happening in the city of Legazpi

also triggered the researchers to want to know the mechanisms used by the PNP

in coping with them; and lastly, (4) the researchers hope that by doing this study,

would be able to contribute to the enhancement of the police force in rendering

its services - that, of which, is vital in the world we live in.

The researchers have chosen the calendar year 2014 – 2016 as the scope and

reference for the study for the purpose of attaining information that are recent

that can help in the fulfilment of the study as well as to be more up-to-date with

the crimes and incidents that is happening in the city.

The area of research will be at the Legazpi Police Station because Legazpi

City, being the center of the Province of Albay wherein almost all commercial

transactions and industries are processed, the city also has a fast-growing

tourism industry with focus on adventure tourism and other economic

industries. Because of these, the chances of different crimes occurring is highly

probable. The researchers have also chosen to narrow it down to only selected

barangays for the reasons of accessibility, safety and security.

Ifollow nalang yung based sa crime-prone statistics sa january kasi kelangan

pa ng letter.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study attempts to determine the level of performance of Legazpi City

Police Station in rendering police services.

 Specifically, it seeks answers to the following problems:

1. What is the profile of Legazpi City Police Station in terms of:

A. Vision, mission, mandate, philosophy, and core values

B. Organizational Structure

C. Logistics

D. Human resource/manpower

E. Accomplishments/ Best practices

2. What is the level of performance of the Albay Police Provincial Office in

terms of:

A. Performing the basic police functions such as:

1. Patrol and proactive policing

2. Crime Prevention and response to crime situations

3. Law enforcement

4. Community relations

B. Providing support to government campaign:

1. Anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism campaign

2. Environmental protection

3.. What are the problems encountered by Legazpi City Police Station in

performing its services?

 4. What measures or action plan can be recommended to further enhance the

performance of Legazpi City Police Station?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is an attempt to determine the level of performance of Legazpi

City Police Station. Specifically, it covers the profile of the Philippine National

Police in the city of Legazpi, the level of performance in terms of performing the

basic police functions and providing support and assistance to government

campaign along environmental protection, anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism.

The study also attempts to determine the problems met by the police in

performing its services, and the measures adapted to enhance further their

performance.

This study only covers the city of Legazpi and excludes other cities or

municipalities in Albay. An interview shall also be conducted with the Chief of

Police of Legazpi City Police Station. The documents to be studied shall be

delimited to the entire city but survey will be concentrated only in the selected

barangays in the city of Legazpi namely Bitano, Oro Site, Puro, Rawis, and Victory

Village. These barangays are selected because as urban places, they are more

prone to crimes.

Respondents of the study, in the the surveys and interviews, will come from

Legazpi City Police personnels and residents of the selected barangays. Twenty-

five respondents will come from the Legazpi City Police personnel while in each

barangays 25 respondents will also be selected. There will be a total of one

hundred fifty respondents for this study.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study will be a significant input to the overall development program of

the local government of the city of Legazpi. The researchers consider the study

significant to the following sectors.

Philippine National Police. The result of the study may be useful in their

policy review, evaluation and formulation, particularly in the areas of governance

of their provincial police offices. The result of this study may be applicable for

policy formulation purposes on how the Philippine National Police can best

enforce the law, conduct patrol and pro-active policing, and improve their

strategies on crime responses, crime prevention and community relations.

Local Government Units of the City of Legazpi. The findings of the study

may be useful as a database for future courses of action in the maintenance of

peace and order, and in facilitating new schemes of police service administration.

The local government may use the data as inputs in the formulation of local

ordinances and in the planning of joint peace and order programs with the

police.

Police Personnel in Legazpi. The result of the study may be adapted to

their law enforcement strategies and tactics to maximize their present

capabilities and in maximizing their visibility for a more effective police force.

The study may be able to identify the weak areas where the police must

strengthen their coverage.

 Legaspeños. The findings of the study may give them the opportunity of

having effective police services that they deserve and thus ensure they have

peace and security in their daily pursuits of living.

Bicol University College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. The findings

of the study may serve as an instrument for the college to be inspired to

participate more to the implementation or enforcement of the programs and

functions of the police which could benefit mostly the students and personnel of

the college who are residing in Legazpi City.

Political Science Department. Through the results of the study, the

department could serve as instrument to guide the students in understanding the

real functions of the Philippine National Police. It could also device some

innovations that will encourage the faculty and students to support the PNP in

carrying out the police services to the citizenry.

Future Researchers. This study can serve as a guide and reference to future

researchers who may conduct further studies.

 NOTES

1
Herman Goldstein, Policing a Free Society, (Massachusetts, Cambridge
University Press, 1987).
2
www. osac.gov
3
m.inquirer.net

4
http://www.bicolmail.com/2012/?p=22506
5
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Legazpi-Philippines