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Cecille Suerte Felipe
Philippine Star

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced yesterday the partial list of chairpersons of the country’s regional peace and order councils (RPOCs) which under the law are empowered to execute national policies, plans, and programs related to peace and security concerns at the local level.

Puno said that RPOCs play a key role in crime prevention by being on the frontline of the government’s continuing efforts to enhance the level of cooperation between the police and the private sector.

He added that a 2006 Malacañang directive giving the Philippine National Police a shared responsibility with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in handling the insurgency problem means that RPOCs now play a pivotal role in dealing with threats to internal security.

They are also required to make periodic assessments of the prevailing peace and order situation in their respective areas of responsibility and receive complaints, if any, against government personnel, whether civilian or military.

These complaints, Puno said, are endorsed to the agency concerned, which, in turn, is compelled to submit reports of action taken on grievances to the RPOCs.

As approved by President Arroyo, Puno said that for the Ilocos region, the designated chairperson is Gov. Amado Espino Jr. of Pangasinan, while Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua of Quirino province was named head in Cagayan Valley.

Mayor Oscar Rodriguez of San Fernando City, Pampanga was appointed RPOC chair for Central Luzon; Gov. Josephine Sato of Occidental Mindoro for MIMAROPA (Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region; and Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur for Bicol.

Gov. Neil Tupas of Iloilo was appointed chair for Western Visayas; and Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar for Eastern Visayas.

For Northern Mindanao, Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri of Bukidnon was named the RPOC chair, while Gov. Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur was appointed for the Davao region.

Others named to head the RPOC are Gov. Datu Suharto Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat for SOCCSKSARGEN or Central Mindanao; Gov. Vicente Pimentel Jr. of Surigao del Sur for CARAGA; and Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Mayor Maria Lourdes Fernando of Marikina City was appointed chair of the Metro Manila Peace and Order Council.

Peace and order councils, which are under the guidance of the National Police Commission, were created through Executive Order 309 to implement and execute national policies, plans and programs on peace and order.

Among its goals is to empower the local community towards greater participation and involvement in the formulation and implementation of peace and order programs.

Puno said RPOCs are also tasked under the law to monitor the implementation of peace and order programs and projects at the regional levels and the operation of Civilian Volunteer Self-Defense Organizations and counterinsurgency programs and activities in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Rommel C. Lontayao
Manila Times

About 11.5 percent of Filipino families have become victims of common crimes in the previous months, a latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The November 29 to December 3, 2007 SWS survey found that 10.5 percent of families lost property while 1.3 percent suffered physical violence.

It also showed that 8.6 percent of families were victimized by pickpockets and 3 percent were victimized by burglary in the past six months, in reference to the time the survey was conducted.

The SWS survey also showed that 1.9 percent of motor vehicle owners were victims of car theft in the past six months.

The proportion of families with a member hurt by physical violence was 1.3 percent.

According to SWS, the figures sum up to 11.5 percent of families who reported victimization by one of the common crimes, while the average number of times a family was victimized by crime was placed at 1.2.

Pickpocketing on the rise in Metro Manila

The survey added that Metro Manila families pickpocketed in the previous six months has been usually at double-digits since September 2006, briefly eased to 9.3 percent in September 2007, but rose to 16.3 percent again in December 2007.

“Outside Metro Manila, pick­pocketing is typically in single-digits: 8.7 percent in Balance Luzon (areas outside of Metro Manila in Luzon), 6.7 percent in Mindanao, and 5.3 percent in the Visayas as of December 2007,” the survey stated.

Families who suffered break-ins were 5.0 percent in Metro Manila, 3.3 percent in Balance Luzon, 2.3 percent in Mindanao, and 1.7 percent in the Visayas, the survey also showed.

Vehicle-owning families whose vehicles were stolen were 5.2 percent in Metro Manila, and 2.3 percent in Balance Luzon. No car theft cases were recorded in Visayas and Mindanao areas, according to SWS.

“Families with any member hurt from physical violence in the past six months were 2.3 percent in Metro Manila, 1.3 percent in Balance Luzon, 1 percent in Min­danao, and 0.7 percent in the Visayas,” it added.

The proportion of victimization of families by common crimes was 14.9 percent in August 2004, but dropped to around 8.3 percent in June 2006. It reached double-digits from September 2006 to February 2007, ranging from 10.7 percent to 13.2 percent before the figures eased to 9.6 percent in June and 9.5 percent in September. This, however, rose again to 11.5 percent in December.

The SWS said its survey on crime victimization was not commissioned and was conducted on their own initiative.

Since 1989, SWS has been asking respondents of each quarterly survey whether any household member became a victim of theft outside the home, home break-in, or violence in the past six months.

Helen Flores
Philippine Star

One out of 10 or 9.6 percent of Filipino families has been victimized by common crimes in the past six months, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported yesterday.

The survey was conducted from June 27 to 30 using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults.

“Victimization reported in SWS surveys is much higher than the number of crimes actually reported to the police, and is usually highest in Metro Manila,” the survey firm said.

The SWS said victimization by common crime had been going down since August 2004, when 14.9 percent of families were victimized by any crime. It was a relatively low 8.3 percent in June 2006 before going back to double-digit levels from September 2006 to February 2007, ranging from 10.7 percent to 13.2 percent.

The latest survey found that 8.9 percent of families lost property to pickpockets, burglars or carnappers, and 1.8 percent suffered physical violence.

Of those having any type of motor vehicle, 0.2 percent were robbed of the vehicle, the SWS said.

The proportion of families which had members suffering from physical violence in the past six months was 1.8 percent.

“This sums up to a total 9.6 percent of families reported to be victimized by any common crime, with an average of 12 crimes for every 10 victimized families,” the SWS said.

Families victimized by pickpockets had ranged from 6.4 percent to 10 percent in the past two years. The ranges for other crimes were 2.1 percent to 4 percent for home break-ins, 0.6 percent to 3.7 percent for carnap-victims among vehicle-owners, and 1 percent to 2.5 percent for physical violence.

The survey further revealed that 15 percent of Metro Manila families were victimized by pickpockets in the previous six months, compared to 6.3 percent in the balance of Luzon, 4.3 percent in the Visayas, and 4 percent in Mindanao.

Families who suffered break-ins were 5.3 percent in Metro Manila, four percent in Mindanao, 3.7 percent in the balance of Luzon, and 1.3 percent in the Visayas.

Vehicle-owning families who experienced carnapping were 1.8 percent in Metro Manila.

Jonathan M. Hicap
Manila Times

There is a bright future for the DepEd’s Cyber Education Project if research studies on the effectiveness of the Lopez-owned Knowledge Channel are to be believed.

Different studies point to the positive impact of Knowledge Channel, a cable channel dedicated to educational programming for students in Philippine public schools.

An Ateneo Wellness Center study in 2001 showed high acceptance of the Knowledge Channel among viewers.

A study by the Philippine Survey and Research Co. on spending habits and influences on children aged 7 to 12 revealed that the Knowledge Channel is the “most liked” children’s TV channel in the country. Also, 90 percent of mothers surveyed said Knowledge Channel is beneficial to their children, with 89 percent of them urging their children to watch the channel. The study also said 85 percent of students continue to watch the channel at home or outside school.

A thesis by Marivic Francisco of the Marikina Institute of Science and Technology in 2002 said there is a significant difference between the academic performance of the control and experimental group with regard to the use of Knowledge Channel.

An in-house mini-study in 2004 by Knowledge Channel showed positive response to its programming.

Among students, 81 percent in grade school and 88 percent in high school said the channel is relevant to their studies. Ninety-eight percent of elementary students and 90 percent of high-school students said Knowledge Channel helps them in their studies.

Teachers also had praises for the channel with 97 percent saying it is appealing and interesting, and congruent with minimum learning competencies. A total of 96 percent said the channel enriches lessons.

Knowledge Channel is available in 1,528 public elementary and high school in 40 provinces, reaching about 2.67 million students. Still, its penetration rate among public schools is only about 3.6 percent.

The Cyber Education Project of the Department of Education will use satellite technology to conduct live broadcast lessons in classrooms across the country. The DepEd said the CEP will use satellites to deliver content to 37,794 or 90 percent of all public elementary and high schools. This will link schools to a nationwide network that will provide 12 video channels, wireless wide area networking, local area networking and wireless Internet connection.

Educational TV like the Knowledge Channel is seen as the fastest way to deliver educational content to students. Because it is simultaneous and nationwide, “what is seen in a first-class Makati public school is the same program viewed by students in Tawi-Tawi and Batanes’ sixth-class municipalities and baran­gays.”

It is also easily upgradeable, since programs can be quickly edited to conform to a new curriculum in schools compared to five years to reproduce books.

Educational TV is also cost-efficient compared to textbook purchase. It is estimated to cost only P20 for every student a year compared to P312 for every student a year to reproduce a textbook based on DepEd prices.

The Cyber Education Project has gained support from the National Association of Public Secondary School Heads Inc. It praised the DepEd “for prioritizing a fast, effective, and competency-based public education delivery mode as a strategy to implement the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda.”

“We cannot afford to lag behind in the race for human development,” said Ka Arnul Empleo, Manila High School principal and national president of the association of public-school heads. “Filipino youth must be competitive with their counterparts in the rest of the world. CyberEd will provide our students, wherever they are, equal opportunities to access quality instructional packages and interact with their peers in a borderless environment.”

The association believes that Cyber Ed can be a tool for the continuing professional development of public school teachers nationwide.

It said Cyber Ed could be “a potent tool for school-based management and share with other school heads around the world best practices in educational management, administration and leadership.”

The Manila Times

ABDUCTIONS in the country fell in 2004 to their lowest level in more than a decade, an anticrime watchdog said Monday, in apparent evidence that a government crackdown on kidnap gangs was working.

The Citizens? Action Against Crime said all but one of 94 people kidnapped last year were released safely after paying millions of pesos in ransom. One victim was found murdered in December.

A total of P42 million ($750,000) was paid to kidnap gangs last year, the…