 Chief of Police, Cabanatuan City Police Station City Hall Compound, Cabanatuan City
- Specialization: Intelligence, Operations and Police-Community Relations
- Years of Service: 17
- Career Highlights: Helped transform Cabanatuan City Police Station into a multi awarded police unit, gaining the support and appreciation of various sectors of the community by effectively lowering crime incidence
- Education: Masters in Public Management
- Personal Data: Born in Cabanatuan City, married with three children
Being the chief of the local police in his own hometown gives P/Supt Cruz an extra dose of inspiration to exert every effort to make Cabanatuan City one of the safest places on earth. His wide-ranging initiatives have all been effective in sending out the message that lawless elements do not have a place to stay and prosper in his area of responsibility – a message that at least four criminal gangs operating in and out of Cabanatuan City have found out the hard way.
Aside from the usual robbery and hold-up suspects, notorious criminals wanted for peddling illegal drugs, murder and rape – including the most wanted man in Nueva Ecija – as well as car thieves plying their trade in Central Luzon have met the long arm of the law in the person of P/Supt Cruz, whose intensive network of civilian informants and community assets make the job look easy. His accomplishments have earned him and his unit not just various awards and commendations, but the trust and support of the entire community and the PNP hierarchy as a whole. P/Supt Cruz is a staunch advocate of community involvement as a means of extending – and multiplying – the PNP’s limited reach and force. In his many years as a police officer, he has repeatedly counted on barangay tanods, security guards, police auxiliary groups, and other civilian volunteers to address law enforcement, if not peace and order issues, especially at the community level. His various operational plans are often designed and executed with the help and support of civilian assets, such as for Project Kontra Kawatan, an anti-snatching campaign where owners of commercial establishments benefited from helping the police catch petty thieves, and Task Force Motorsiklo, which helped bring down incidence of crimes committed by motorcycle-riding felons, as well as through the regular conduct of nightly foot patrols, checkpoints and similar police visibility initiatives. |
