Abra’s newly sworn provincial police chief is aiming for a violence-free election period in the province, a tall order in a province that has historically been a constant hotbed for election-related violence.
This comes as the Abra police revealed that the number of shooting incidents in the province doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Abra Provincial Police Office (PPO) Provincial Director PCol. Gilbert Fati-ig said on Monday, January 6, that the police in the province will establish more checkpoints and more religiously conduct checks, noting that just in the six days since the start of the year, the checkpoints had already nabbed one small-caliber gun.
Fati-ig also said he has instructed all units of the provincial police to intensify visibility, and conduct more patrols both on vehicle and on foot to pre-empt shootings, citing Abra police data that shows most shooting suspects were on motorcycles and bigger vehicles.
The biggest chunk of the violence occurred in the capital town of Bangued, where 13 separate shootings occurred throughout 2024. However, the shootings were widespread, with Fati-ig noting that only six out of the 27 towns in the province saw zero incidents.
