Western Visayas cops nab 469 fugitives

By Jennifer P. Rendon

An average of fifteen wanted persons were arrested daily by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6. Due to a series of manhunt operations against wanted persons, 469 fugitives were arrested from June 1 to 30.

The 364 police operations resulted in the capture of 89 most wanted persons (MWPs) and 380 other wanted persons (OWPs).

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office recorded the highest number of arrests with 189, or 40.29 percent of the total, while Iloilo PPO’s 113 arrests secured the second spot, accounting for 24 percent.

Bacolod City Police Office came in third with 39 arrests.

PRO-6 records showed that of the 89 arrested MWPs, one was listed on the national level, eight on the regional most wanted list, 22 under provincial/city level, and 58 on the municipal level most wanted list.

The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) captured the highest number of MWPs at 28, followed by the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOcPPO) with 23.

Other arrests included Iloilo City Police Office with 11; Antique PPO with seven; Capiz PPO and Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) with six each; Aklan PPO with four; Guimaras PPO with three; and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Regional Field Unit 6 (CIDG-RFU6) with one arrest.

For other wanted persons, NOcPPO arrested 166, Iloilo PPO captured 85, Bacolod City PO had 33, Aklan PPO netted 25, Iloilo City PO had 22, Antique PPO had 19, Capiz PPO had 16, Guimaras PPO had nine, CIDG-RFU6 had four, and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 had one.

Brigadier General Jack Wanky, Western Visayas police chief, lauded the dedication and patience of the tracker teams from different units in arresting these wanted persons.

“The number of arrests shows our policemen’s commitment and sacrifices in locating the whereabouts of these law violators,” he said.

Wanky emphasized that this also proves no wanted person can hide for life.

“It won’t be long before the law catches up with them, and they are held accountable for their offenses. Thus, we urge other wanted persons to surrender and face the charges against them,” he said.

The region’s top cop also asked families of wanted persons not to coddle them but to encourage their kin to surrender.