SAME OLD PROMISE: New Iloilo top cop eyes to reduce crimes in 3 months

By: Jennifer P. Rendon

Singing the same tune, incoming Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director Police Colonel Roland Vilela vowed to reduce crimes once he assumes his new assignment.

And his target date? Three months.

“The police have two main roles: to prevent crimes and solve it when it happens,” Vilela said in an interview on Aug 20, 219 after a courtesy call to Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.

Vilela noted a slight increase in the province’s total crime volume and he vowed to reduce eight focus crimes – murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, and carnapping/motorcycle theft.

He also noticed a slight decrease in crime solution efficiency (CSE) which he said he would improve.

CSE is the percentage of solved cases out of the total number of crime volume handled by law enforcement agencies in a time frame.

“I won’t promise heaven and earth. Ang promise ko ay magtrabaho lang,” he said.

Vilela also gave his assurance to maintain peace and order in the province.

His appointment as IPPO chief is contained in Special Order No. NHQ-2019-3019 signed by Police Lt. Gen. Camilo Prancatius Cascolan, the PNP Chief Directorial Staff. It takes effect on Sept. 1, 2019.

But Cascolan signed the order as early as Aug 7.

With 10 days to go before formally assuming office, Vilela said he is prepared for his task ahead.

In fact, he has already mapped out his priority programs using his last name – “VILELA.”

VILELA stands for Vigorously radicate illegal drugs and other forms of criminality; Implement provincial, municipal, and city ordinances; Law enforcement without fear or favor; Enhance management of police operations; end Local communist insurgency; and Actively support the stakeholders on peace and order.

Aside from illegal drugs, Vilela said he will also focus on the campaign against illegal fishing, particularly in Northern Iloilo.

Vilela is the outgoing the chief of the Regional Comptroller Division of Police Regional Office 2.

He will succeed Police Colonel Marlon Tayaba, who served IPPO for more than two years already.

Vilela, a member of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Kapanalig Class of 1997, is the current national president of the Alumni Association of Lakans.

His father is from Batangas while his mother hails from Sapi-an, Capiz.

“In a way, I will be serving my mother’s fellow Ilonggos,” said Vilela, who speaks fluent Hiligaynon.

 

HAPPY COPS

Internally, Vilela said he will create a happy environment for police officers.

“Pag happy ang isang tao ay magiging happy siya sa trabaho niya. Uuwi siya ng bahay na happy. Happy din ang magiging output niya,” he said.

Unhappy people, Vilela added, are unproductive individuals.

Aside from instilling the very core reasons for joining the police service, Vilela plans to teach proper financial management among his subordinate cops.

Vilela said he was informed that a good number of police officers are in a debt trap.

He said that officers who are cash strapped are usually at odds with their partners and tend to engage in illegal activities.

Amid the controversy he faced before assuming as IPPO chief, Vilela said he is ready to prove his detractors wrong.