PNP: Awards Taguig City Government And Mayor Lani Cayetano With "The Best among the Best Practices Program" Award

August 3, 2011

The City Government of Taguig under the stewardship of Mayor Lani Cayetano has proven to be a worthy and active partner of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the fight against crime and lawless elements.

Last Friday, 29 July 2011, the efforts of Mayor Cayetano were recognized by the PNP as she was given the Special Award for Local Chief Executive in connection with the "Best Among the Best Practices" program during the observance of the 16th Police Community Relations Month.

NCRPO director Police Chief Supt. Alan Purisima handed the special award to the young and dynamic mayor during a simple ceremony. In particular, the award extolled Mayor Cayetano "for her relentless efforts in helping the local police fight criminality in Taguig."

"One of the Cayetano administration's top priorities has been to maintain peace and order by boosting the crime-fighting ability of our police officers. As we all know, commerce and progress naturally follow in the footsteps of peace and order," said lawyer Darwin Icay, the mayor's spokesperson.

With this maxim, the city government started out the year by donating 13 brand new Isuzu pickups to the Taguig City Police Station under its chief, Senior Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr.

The purchase of the Pnp Patrol Vehicle was prioritized despite the grave shortage of vehicles by the City government. The former Mayor Freddie Tinga gave away almost 300 city vehicles right before Mayor Lani Cayetano took office. Instead of purchasing vehicles for the City Officials Mayor Cayetano decided to prioritize emergency vehicles and PNP Patrol vehicles. She appealed to City Officials to sacrifice and to first ensure the safety of Taguig Residents by prioritizing the PNP.

Given last 24 January 2011, the pickups would function as mobile patrol vehicles which the police can use in their response, surveillance and monitoring duties. Undoubtedly, this was a major boon to the PNP since there are 350 cops detailed in Taguig, a bustling, multi-cultural city of more than 720,000 people.

Mayor Lani has also extended support to other police units in her jurisdiction, particularly the Southern Police District (SPD) in Fort Bonifacio and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan.

It can be recalled that the 29-year-old local chief executive helped jumpstart the SPD's cooperative by offering them an initial fund of P500,000. According to Ate Lani, a cooperative would be able to provide timely financial assistance to police officers, thus Mayor Cayetano has also promised before NCRPO personnel to "push for the creation of modern buildings, additional facilities and benefits to raise the morale of our policemen."

Meanwhile, the Cayetano administration launched a conscious effort to erase the image of Taguig city as a "hot spot" of illegal drugs during the time of ex-mayor Freddie Tinga.

This was achieved by an all out war against drug pushers and illegal gambling together with the reconstitution of the Taguig Anti-Drug Abuse Council (TADAC) via Executive Order No. 2010-09, which Mayor Lani signed. As chairperson of the Council's executive committee, the Mayor alloted P3,500,000 for Tadac and Has been coordinating and supporting Pdea's operations in the City.

Under the same directive, the city government of Taguig also set aside P10,000,000 for the construction of a rehabilitation center for drug dependents and another P5,000,000 for a juvenile jail which would serve youths who are in conflict with the law.

"Executive Order No. 2010-09 is intended to ensure a comprehensive, integrated, people powered and preventive approach in fighting drug abuse problems and cooperatively work in planning on drug control in the city," pointed out Icay, who is a former Taguig councilor.

To help in the police's efforts, the mayor initiated the special training of Barangay Security Force (BSF) members in all of Taguig's 28 barangays so they may also conduct surveillance, apprehend criminals and secure their respective communities from threats. She said the BSF will work hand-in-hand with cops in its operations, serving as their partners.

As part of its peace and order campaign, Mayor Lani effected the installation of road lights along the entire 7.2 km stretch of C-6 Road. The length of C-6 covers 10 barangays: San Miguel, Sta. Ana, Calsada, Napindan, Bambang, Hagonoy, Ibayo Tipas, Palingon, Wawa and New Lower Bicutan.

In order to preserve the road lights as well as the security of residents, the local government has ordered the deployment of Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) and Traffic Management Office (TMO) members along C-6. It has also solicited the help of barangay captains in the area.

According to Police Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos, NCRPO spokesperson, Mayor Cayetano bested three other nominees for the special award.

"Her name was recommended by the Southern Police District (SPD). Out of the four nominees, the selection board deemed that Mayor Lani's contributions to local police were a cut above the rest," explained Carlos.

Spurred by the recognition, Mayor Cayetano said that she would continue to throw her full support to the Taguig police station, SPD, NCRPO and the other police units within the city.

"Rest assured that Mayor Cayetano will plan and implement more projects with the purpose of assisting the men and women in uniform," Icay concluded.