The Regional Peace and Order Council – National Capital Region (RPOC-NCR) held its fourth quarter and last full council meeting for 2022 on December 19, 2022 at the Manila Hotel.

PMGen. Jonnel C. Estomo, Regional Director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and current Interim Chairperson of RPOC-NCR, presided over the meeting.

Usec. Oscar F. Valenzuela, Undersecretary for Peace and Order of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, graced the occasion and delivered an address conveying the DILG Secretary’s greetings to the RPOC-NCR, particularly the NCRPO for a job well done in handling the anti-criminality situation in Metro Manila, as evidenced by the significant drop in crime incidence statistics. Usec. Valenzuela also expressed the hope that injuries suffered during the celebration of the New Year be kept to the minimum, given the firecracker ban.

Following Usec. Valenzuela’s message, the RPOC-NCR proceeded to tackle a full agenda, starting with an update on the peace and order and threat situation in Metro Manila as presented by the NCR Police Office (NCRPO) and Joint Task Force-NCR (JTF-NCR).

The next presentation covered the Omnibus Guidelines on the ongoing Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP) by IO I Florian Rose Medica B. Cada, Assistant Chief of the Regional BDCP under the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency – NCR (PDEA-NCR).

Ms. Kathleene Joyce M. Ramirez, Senior Project Officer, DILG – Bureau of Local Government Supervision (BLGS), followed with updates on the recently launched “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (BIDA) program, which aims to curb demand for and disrupt the supply of illegal drugs in Metro Manila while focusing on the rehabilitation of drug dependents under a parallel component.

With the holiday season in mind, Dr. Kezia Lorraine H. Rosario, Head of the Health Promotions Unit of the Department of Health – Metro Manila Center for Health Development (DOH-MMCHD), spoke on the agency’s campaign to prevent injuries most commonly associated with the celebration of Christmas and the New Year, such as firecracker burns, health problems arising from stress and excessive consumption of food and alcoholic drinks, and the like.

For the information of RPOC-NCR member agencies, LGOO V Alyssa Marie Briones, from the DILG-BLGS, provided an update on current policy thinking at the national level on matters of peace and order and public safety, as well as future directions for 2023 as gleaned from the deliberations of the National Peace and Order Council (NPOC).

PMGen. Estomo ended the proceedings by stressing the need to keep lines of communications open among RPOC-NCR member agencies. This is to ensure that law enforcement, public safety agencies, and emergency response entities are all on the same page and thus ensure that the NCR remains safe, secure, and peaceful going forward.

The meeting concluded with the approval of an RPOC-NCR full council resolution concurring with the Metro Manila Council Resolution banning the use of firecrackers while designating areas where fireworks displays may be held safely for the entertainment of the public at large.