PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office chief, Director Geary L. Barias is appealing to Metro Manila mayors to urge banks to set up more closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) outside their establishments to prevent a repeat of the RCBC massacre.
“I am asking the city and municipal mayors of Metro Manila to pass resolutions that will require banks in their areas to install more CCTVs outside their premises since these are vital gadgets in preempting and solving robberies and other criminal activities,” Barias said.
He said the battleground between law enforcers and the bank robbers has shifted from the doorsteps of banks to the streets, thus the need for Sangguniang Panglungsods to pass ordinances requiring banks to install CCTVs.
Barias explained that tighter police security in banks forced criminals to target bank clients instead.
“More CCTVs on the streets will help the PNP a lot in extending its visual security capability in monitoring criminal groups and in documenting their nefarious activities especially during banking hours. That is why I am urging our mayors to require all banks to install more CCTVs outside of their establishments,” Barias said.
He directed the five NCRPO district directors to adopt stringent measures in neutralizing motorcycle-riding criminals by intensifying their checkpoints and police operations to prevent the transport of illegal firearms.
“I have also asked my men to intensify their intelligence-gathering. They should get as much information on different robbery gangs and collate them for comparison and easy monitoring once these criminals strike,” he said.
He ordered the NCRPO district chiefs to replicate the Oplan “Noah’s Ark” of the Eastern Police District which requires every police personnel to act as the savior of the citizens and to prioritize life-saving efforts during emergency and crisis situations.
Barias said bank robberies in Metro Manila have significantly gone down from January to February this year compared to the same period last year. However, there are more cases of bank clients being robbed.