Vehicular incidents in city down by 83% during MECQ

By Jennifer P. Rendon

One “good” thing that the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) status brought to Iloilo City is the dramatic decrease in the number of vehicular incidents.

The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) accounted for the incidents that happened from May 25 until June 11, 2021, when Iloilo City reverted to MECQ status, and those from April 25 until May 11, 2021 when the city was still under the more lenient Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

Only 21 vehicular incidents were reported during the MECQ period. Fifteen of these incidents resulted in damage to property while six led to physical injuries.

The previous months’ records indicated 127 vehicular incidents. Ninety-eight incidents resulted in damage to property, 28 in physical injury, and one in homicide.

The ICPO Traffic Enforcement Unit said 328 vehicular incidents happened in January, 307 in February, 339 in March, 275 in April, and 134 in May.

Colonel Uldarico Garbanzos, Iloilo City police chief, said that the records would disprove reports of alleged increase in the number of vehicular incidents in Iloilo City.

“There were few vehicles plying in the streets, thus lesser number of incidents,” he said.

Garbanzos said the statistics was lifted from the PNP Crime Information, Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS), formerly the e-Blotter system, that sets a standard procedure by which all crime incidents reported to the police stations are electronically stored in a database.