BOHOLANO top brass Friday requested the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to assign more policemen and deploy more patrol cars and a fast craft in the province. The request came by way of a joint resolution during the meeting of the Provincial Development Council (PDC), the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC), Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), and the Bohol chapters of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), Vice Mayors (VMLP) and Barangays (LnB) at the Bohol Tropics Resort that Gov. Erico Aumentado presided over

The Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) currently has a personnel complement of only 1,134 men and women – well below the supposed requirement of 1,300 using the standard ratio of one policeman per 1,000 population. Bohol now has 1.3 million people. The number is further reduced with personnel assigned to special duties, namely –the Tourist Police with 47 men and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, with another 25. The BPPO also has only 43 four-wheeled patrol cars, with several of them unserviceable – again well below the standard requirement of one patrol car for every town and four patrol cars for Tagbilaran City ; The burgeoning development of the province, especially in its capital city and rapidly emerging town growth centers underscores the need to strengthen the capacity and strength of its police force, Aumentado observed.

This need, he said, can be addressed by adding more policemen to the current strength, by reinforcing the deployment of patrol cars as well as the allocation of a fast craft to prevent the reentry of communist insurgents now operating outside of Bohol into the province through its 300-kilometer coastline. The joint session recognized the identified needs, and supported the request to ensure the continued safety and well-being of the Boholano constituents, residents, tourists and visitors alike. On the other hand, the fast craft can deter the reentry to the province of insurgents as envisioned in the Bohol Local Integrated Security System (BLISS) – an expansion of the military's Internal Security System (ISS). It includes the watch to curb illegal fishing and the entry of drugs and other contraband.

Being an island province, Bohol is highly dependent on its coastal areas and surrounding seas as a primary source of food and other marine products on which communities depend for their livelihood and subsistence; Of late however illegal fishing activities such as dynamite and cyanide fishing especially in the Danajon Reef were observed to be increasing. The joint session expressed concern over the situation, as the 273-square-kilometer vast Danajon Double Barrier Reef is the only documented such formation in the Indo-Pacific region, rich in biodiversity and marine eco-systems, but found by a study conducted by marine biologist Alan White that only 25% of its corals are intact and able to support marine life, hence the resolution to Police Director General Jesus Verzosa requesting for a fast craft from the agency; Napolcom commissioner, too

At the same time, the joint session also endorsed to Malacañang Boholano lawyer Bernardo Calibo, regional director of Napolcom 7, for appointment as commissioner when a vacancy occurs with the retirement of an incumbent within the year. The assembly had noted Calibo's outstanding performance as he religiously fulfilled his duties in overseeing the regional office of a body created not only to control abuses of policemen but also to look after their welfare. Calibo has been serving Napolcom for more than 30 years now. He has been invited abroad a number of times to give lectures on jurisprudence and police concerns for the United Nations, and has even experienced working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As regional director, he authored a seven--point program for Napolcom that proposes, among others: a Police Fund, a Marriage Fund, and termination from service (after one year) of policemen who do not live up to the standards of the profession. This will cleanse the police system of scalawags without need of a long trial, in the tradition of the famous institution Scotland Yard; Calibo's outstanding performance is further evidenced by the fact that, under his watch, the Central Visayas Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) was awarded the Most Outstanding RPOC in the country by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, hence the endorsement to her and to Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Napolcom chair.