In view of the rising incidence of criminality in Dumaguete City and Sibulan town, Oriental Negros Gov. George Arnaiz is proposing the creation of a crime task force to be patterned after the successful Task Force 24, which is gaining headway in the campaign against drug personalities in the city and province.

Arnaiz told the DAILY STAR that, like the Task Force 24, the proposed crime task force will be composed of selected members of the different law enforcement agencies.

He said it will be created under the direction of the newly assigned Philippine National Police provincial director Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe.

Arnaiz said the new task force will focus first on the problem of snatching in the city, which he said, is getting serious.

Dumaguete Mayor Agustin Perdices said he is pleased with the development, especially with the track record of the Task Force 24, which was created by Arnaiz last year to combat the illegal drug trade in the city and province.

He said the city government is ready to support the new task force, adding that other local government units should also do the same, since the task force operates provincewide.

The new task force is also expected to look into the series of killings in Dumaguete and Sibulan town last year.

In Dumaguete, on December 27, Teodoro "Angeling" Lajato, 63, was gunned down at his residence in Barangay Cantil-e.

About two weeks ago, Joel Canon, a Filipino-American student at a university in the city was also shot dead at E.J. Blanco, Barangay Piapi.

Other killings in the city included the shooting to death in June of a city acting treasurer, Erlinda Tumongha, in front of her residence at San Jose Ext., in Barangay Taclobo.

Last month, an Indian national believed to be involved in the lending business, and a police officer, were also shot dead in separate occasions and places in Sibulan.

All the murders have remained unsolved up to press time yesterday.*RA

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