Tacloban: The Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) checked the enforcement of five-minute response policy through the first-ever Police Response Simulation Exercise Competition held on Monday. PRO-8 Director Brig. Gen. Jay Cumigad said all the 17 police units and stations managed to respond to requests for police assistance within five minutes, except for one area where the patrolling policeman is not very familiar with the streets.

According to Philippines News Agency, the 'friendly competition' assessed the rapid response capability of police units to emergency calls made through the 911 hotline. A monitor at the PRO-8 conference room here displayed live footage from body cameras worn by patrolling police personnel, as well as locations of patrol vehicles through the global positioning system.

'This is not just about response time, but the competition also considers the safety of personnel, how the suspect was arrested, and the accuracy of their reports,' Cumigad told reporters. The simulation competition, launched in line with the directive of Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III, aimed to test and enhance the operational readiness of police units across Eastern Visayas.

The initiative was on top of PRO-8's procurement of push-to-talk over cellular radios, body-worn cameras, global positioning system (GPS) devices, and other communication equipment.