PNP vows to restore order in Tacloban by ‘end of the day’

Natashya Gutierrez

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After police personnel in areas hit by Yolanda went missing, PNP chief Alan Purisima says they have sent over 800 police officers to restore law and order

COPS DEPLOYED. Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima vows law and order in Tacloban by the end of the day after deploying more than 800 personnel to the Visayas. Photo by PNP

MANILA, Philippines – Amid reports of widespread looting in areas hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan), the Philippine National Police (PNP) promises it will restore law and order immediately.

“We assure you that by the end of the day, we will be in full control (of the looting),” PNP Chief Alan Purisima said in a press conference on Monday, November 11. “We will flood Tacloban City with policemen.”

Purisima said the PNP has deployed at least 883 personnel to affected areas, including more than 400 to Tacloban City, Leyte alone.

Tacloban had a local police force of about 352 before Yolanda struck. The province of Leyte listed 1,151 and Southern Leyte, 495, in their provincial police offices. 

According to the 2010 census, Tacloban has a population of over 220,000. The entire province of Leyte, of which Tacloban is a part, has a population of at least 1.6 million, while Southern Leyte has a population of about 400,000. (READ: Fast Facts: Eastern Visayas)

After Yolanda, PNP spokesman Reuben Theodore Sindac said they “still cannot properly account for many of our PNP personnel” in these areas.

President Benigno Aquino III, however, said during an ambush interview on Sunday, November 10, “The police are reporting about 10% of their established plantilla actually stuck to their posts.”

Chaos

Reports from Tacloban paint a picture of desperation and chaos, as survivors scramble to get basic needs. Without access to badly needed food and water, some already resorted to looting ATM machines and stores, following a complete shutdown of the city’s operations.

Part of the problem, Purisima said, is because “people are hungry.” This, because the prepositioned supply the government set aside in anticipation of the super typhoon, was also flooded and swept away by the floods.

According to Purisima, a bulk of the PNP personnel sent to the Visayas – specifically Leyte, Samar, Cebu and Panay Islands – were Special Action Forces (SAF). (READ: Tormented typhoon victims scour for food)

About 297 personnel from SAF, Region 4-A (Calabarzon) and Region 5 (Bicol) are also ready for deployment when the need arises. Additionally, the Armed Forces of the Philippines also deployed soldiers to Tacloban. – Rappler.com

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.