Crime Deterrent: PNP Patrol-101

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan – The police Squad Patrol - 101 that reaped with success in Malasiqui town is being implemented here with dedication by one of its creators.

Superintendent Rodolfo Castro said Patrol 101 is a concept where the Philippine National Police can maximize police visibility.

“It is a concept as an answer to the shortage of manpower of the police,” he stressed.

Patrol 101 is where a squad (four men) marching with precision from one place to another.

Aside from each of the policemen armed with .45 caliber handgun, the one at the rear dons an M-16 assault riffle.
The marching squad did not only deter lawbreakers but becomes a treat to the public who see a refreshing sight of policemen roving around the city. 

Pangasinan Police Provincial Director Marlou C. Chan said before that when this project was piloted at the murders prone- hired killers lair 73 villages Malasiqui, it resulted to zero killing casualty rate. 

He said Regional Police Director Ricardo Marquez of Region-1 was impressed and even told the attendees in a command conference in San Fernando City, La Union that Patrol 101 will be adopted by the region and eventually by the national police after it evaluated its effectiveness.

Policemen hone their marching skill. Patrol 101
is quite like this.

A source in the police who asked anonymity told this paper that Patrol 101 was a brainchild of Marquez, Chan, and Castro.

Castro cited that when the nuts and bolts of Patrol - 101 were presented to the hierarchy of the regional police office they appreciated its practicality.

“During the meeting at the headquarter nandoon ang mga police chiefs, mga police regional and deputy directors ng Cordillera (Region) para ma critique iyon (Patrol 101). So practically minor lang iyong mga critique”.

Superintendent Rod Castro, chief of police San
Carlos City, Pangasinan

In a document furnished to this paper by Castro, it states that a member of the squad in the Patrol 101 should have the following: PNP prescribed patrol uniform, PNP marked vehicle, motorcycle with helmet for Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives (MASCO), M-16 rifle or shotgun, hand cuff, whistle, and night stick (batuta), handheld radio, cellular phone preferably with camera, individual notebook, pen, photo/video equipment, etc, reports (after patrol report, traffic accident report, check list, etc), measuring devise, flashlight, tape recorder, police line, etc., dossiers, contact numbers, flash alarm, missing person, list of loose firearms, address of GFH, possible target search warrant, very important persons, etc., intelligence driven armed patrollers with information, area familiarization: profile, political dynamics, area condition, habits, etc.

Police General Ricardo Marquez : One of the
Brains behind Patrol 101

Castro, a rising star of the PNP and a member of Philippine National Police class of 1997 according to a source, said aside from police visibility, Patrol 101 is intelligence driven.

“Meaning iyong mga patrollers hindi lang naman sila nag pa-patrol doon. Binibigyan natin sila ng information”.

Police Colonel Marlou Chan, Pangasinan Police Director,  (right) poses with
his former upperclassman at the Philippine Military Academy.
Chan, Chief Supt. Marquez, and  Supt.Castro were the brains behind
Patrol 101.