DESCRIBING them as their major partners in their peace and order campaign, the Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership has assured the country’s mayors of full transparency in the conduct of their anti-criminality and counter-insurgency operations as they sought for much wider areas of cooperation and coordination between the police and local government units as essential components of the criminal justice system.
PNP Deputy Chief for Administration, Lieutenant General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar underscored the need for a continuing police-LGU partnership during a recent dialogue with the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), the country’s association of city mayors.
LCP National President, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia initiated the dialogue to primarily express their condemnation over the March 8 killing of their colleague, Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and to press for assurance from the PNP that measures will be put in place to prevent similar situations.
Aquino, his policeman-bodyguard and an aide were killed in a shooting incident which was initially described as a ‘misencounter’ that also left three other policemen dead.
Leonardia, joined by other LCP officials attended a virtual meeting with Eleazar.
An LCP official, retired police general-turned Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and an LCP official went to the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame to represent their association face-to-face in the dialogue.
Magalong expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the PNP for accommodating their request, and also manifested the LCP’s full trust and confidence to the PNP.
Eleazar welcomed the dialogue to restore the confidence of local government executives on their police force amid the public reaction surrounding the Calbayog shooting incident.
“This dialogue reinforces our long standing cooperative relationship in the pursuit of our shared vision of genuine peace and security in the country,” Eleazar said.
In representing PNP chief, General Debold M. Sinas, Eleazar assured the 146 LCP members of transparency and accountability in all police operations in response to observations by the city mayors of “excessive use of force” when it noted the number of gunshot wounds that killed Mayor Aquino, his driver, and security aide.
“The PNP assures that it will do everything in order for the Calbayog incident not to happen again. It will not affect the good working relationship of the police with our local executives. There will be regular updates on the developments of investigation by SITG “Aquino,” said Eleazar.
“The PNP has no policy of using violence or employing unnecessary force against any people, more so our fellow public servants,” Eleazar added.
“Like the city mayors, we in the PNP are also determined to find out what really happened because we also lost three of our men in that incident,” he said while assuring that the PNP will do everything in order for the Calbayog incident not to happen again.
“It will not affect the good working relationship of the police with our local executives. There will be regular updates on the developments of investigation by SITG “Aquino,” Eleazar assured.
