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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
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ILOILO City – A failure in police-community relations. This was how the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) viewed the successful New People’s Army (NPA) raid of the police station in Maasin, Iloilo in June.
The previous set of Maasin policemen failed to earn the community’s trust and confidence so they weren’t informed of the impending raid, said Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson.
During his visit to Maasin on June 23 five days after the raid, Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa appealed for “mutual cooperation and protection” between the townspeople and the Maasin police.
The PNP’s thrust towards adopting community-oriented policing is prescribed by the law that created it, Republic Act 8551 (Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998). It states that the PNP shall be a community- and service-oriented agency responsible for the maintenance of peace and order and public safety.
The daring, broad daylight Maasin police station raid was swift. Within 15 minutes beginning around 10:30 a.m., the rebels shanghaied M16 rifles, Glock .9mm pistols, handheld radios and their base, laptops, mobile phones, and jewelry.
The rebels also used the police station’s patrol car to flee.
According to Gorero, the Maasin raid could not have been a failure in police intelligence. Weeks before the raid, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) already alerted several police stations that the NPA was planning to attack the police station of Maasin and several other towns.
“Kaso lang may mga pulis gid nga pabaya,” said Gorero.
In the PNP Police-Community Relations Manual (Revised, January 2012), then PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome stated: “A synergistic partnership between the community and the Philippine National Police is essential if crime reduction and quality of life are to improve. Thus, both mutual and supportive relationships are vital in increasing the law enforcers’ effectiveness in enforcing the law, reducing crime and maintaining peace.”
This partnership, he added, can be further strengthened by initiating programs to make the community feel safe with the police.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. previously said there was a “failure of intelligence.” But he also said there was a “failure of communication” between the police and the locals.
“When every citizen feels safe in the community, trust and confidence in the police is regained. Thus, it will be easier to solicit their support in all police programs to attain genuine peace and security. In so doing, the PNP shall be a more accessible and indispensable partner of the community in providing more efficient and effective services,” wrote Bartolome in the PNP Police-Community Relations Manual./PN
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