From the Philippine News Agency (May 18): Calabarzon police eyes village defense system
A top police official in the Calabarzon region revealed plans Thursday to revive the village defense system to help protect the communities.
Chief Superintendent Ma. O R. Aplasca, Calabarzon police regional director, said the community defense system will also be tapped to help the police fight illegal drugs and other criminal activities.
“Let us work together to adopt the old concept, back in history, when the first Filipinos organized cluster of communities called the “balangay” (village),” Aplasca said.
In the olden times, he said the village defense system, composed of sturdy men, was responsible for security and safety concerns in the village.
“These primordial security forces perform police function, and every member of the family is responsible to ensure peace and order (in the village),” Aplasca noted.
Aplasca said they are looking to employ young and old people to compose the village defense system that will fight criminals and keep the peace in the communities.
Under the plan, Aplasca said the region’s communities will be organized in clusters of 10 to 15 households or pockets of communities with a designated leader per cluster.
The community mobilization program would be able to identify village households, including house occupants and newcomers by tapping the support of the barangay secretaries, he said.
The police official stressed that barangay secretaries are mandated by law to maintain a registry of barangay inhabitants.
He also said that villagers can play a big role in identifying drug pushers or users, persons wanted by law and terrorists as they know the people in their neighborhood.
In disclosing plans to revive the village defense system, Aplasca also cited the success of the “Alsa Masa” in Davao City.
The vigilante group became famous in the 1980s for targeting communists and their sympathizers in Davao City.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php/articles/988998
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