Police version of VFA pushed

From the Manila Standard Today (Apr 21): Police version of VFA pushed

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III proposed an arrangement where the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States can  be modified to suit a police version.

Unlike the ‘Balikatan’ exercises, he said, police forces could hold joint exercises with  their foreign counterpart s  in order to improve the crime-fighting and crime-solving skills of the PNP.

The VFA  is a “good starting point” for a model agreement involving policemen, Pimentel said. 

 He noted that our is to have a police force that is not just properly armed but expertly trained in methods and techniques to prevent the proliferation of crimes.

One name he mentioned prominently is the Scotland Yard of the United Kingdom.

He said an agreement could be explored with Scotland Yard whereby the PNP could benefit from advanced police training in such a specialized field as forensic science and similar new studies that have applied science to solving crimes.

The senator  said this solution is timely because “there are crimes everywhere from petty crimes, crimes against property, all the way to violent heinous crimes including murder.”

He cited unsolved the alarming level of drug-related crimes as well as the series of killings of broadcast and print journalists over the past several years.

“No one has been pinpointed, arrested and prosecuted for the killings media personalities, especially those in Mindanao and the other provinces,” Pimentel said.

The “Kapatiran” exercises, he said.  would certainly help in the search for solutions to many unsolved crimes and thus lead to faster prosecution and the delivery of justice, he said.

 He also wants the Philippine National Police to be better trained in preventing and solving crimes.

He has proposed a “Balikatan-type” agreement the PNP could enter into with countries that have advanced crime-solving and -fighting techniques and training covering crime from the petty to the violent and heinous.

He recalled that in  decades past the Manila Police Force was called “Manila’s Finest” earning its reputation for efficiency because its officer corps and rank-and-file were mostly staffed by qualified law school graduates.

 http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/04/21/police-version-of-vfa-pushed/