Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, the deputy chief for Operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), urged all policemen to be active in social media, saying netizens are now posting information that could lead to crime prevention and busting of criminals.
“The Filipino people whom we vow to serve and protect are now more active in all social media platforms with the advent of new technology. So I encourage you to adopt by being social media active too,” said Eleazar in his speech during his visit in Bicol region.
“I urge you to adopt to the changing times for effective policing because this is one of the essence of our transformation programs,” he added.
Eleazar, who used to be assigned at the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), said that based on his observation, netizens tend to post their complaints and other peace and order-related incidents that they know in their social media accounts.
In some cases, he said social media posts would result in the arrest of suspects from road rage incidents to some high-profile crime.
As such, he said policemen can now directly get information from the people through the social media, especially those which are going viral.
The official said this trend should be taken advantage of the police as effective crime prevention and crime solution also include adopting all the available technology.
“It is in the social media that they spend more time and it is the social media that they use as a tool of information-sharing for illegal deeds and activities, let us reach out to them by intensifying the police presence in the social media,” explained Eleazar.
“So it is inevitable for us in the PNP to include social media in the planning and implementation of crime prevention and peace and order-related measures,” he added.
Eleazar said that the Chief PNP himself, Gen. Archie Gamboa, has been very supportive and even encouraging new innovations in crime prevention strategies.
Among the strategies now being implemented is the creation of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts at the station levels. (Aaron Recuenco)
