MANILA — Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday called on the country’s foreign allies to help train the Philippine National Police (PNP) to improve the competence of the national police force, specifically in their crime-solving skills.
The call was made after President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s chief ally in the Senate criticized the performance of the Philippine National Police, which he feels compromises the administration’s war on drugs and crime.
“The country continues to suffer from ‘deaths under investigation’ without seeing suspects arrested, charged, and sentenced in court. If the Philippine National Police cannot improve itself, it should consider outside assistance”, Pimentel said.
Pimentel said he is particularly interested in securing assistance from “friendly” countries with highly-regarded police forces, such as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other members of the European Union.
“Maybe we can bring in experts from truly professional police forces such as the Scotland Yard or the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to teach our policemen the basics of police work, respect for human rights, and how to obey the law,” he said.
This was not the first time that the Senate leader called out the Philippine National Police.
In June last year, Pimentel already criticized the national police force for its inability to solve crimes and the involvement of its members in criminal activities.
That the time, he also proposed a Visiting Forces Agreement-type agreement to help train the PNP.
Pimentel, who pushed for the passage of the resolution increasing the base pay of military, police, and uniformed personnel, said he is determined that the Filipino people get their money’s worth in the form of improved service from the police.
“We increased the salaries of policemen. We approved funds for training police officers. We made sure the Philippine National Police budget is sufficient. We want to see the PNP deliver on its end of the bargain — make us feel safe, catch criminals, solve crime,” Pimentel said. (PNA)
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