MANILA, Aug. 6 (PNA) — The National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) en banc headed by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas, also concurrent NAPOLCOM Chairman, has approved Resolution No. 2015-342 last July 21 empowering the Philippine National Police (PNP) to perform its role as a community and service-oriented agency through the adoption of the Community and Service-Oriented Policing (CSOP) system.
NAPOLCOM Vice-Chairman and Executive Officer Eduardo U. Escueta said that the CSOP system, as the foundation of community-oriented policing and crime prevention strategy in the country, shall bolster community and service-oriented activities in the locality and thereby gain the trust and support of the local government and the community towards better cooperation and coordination for local development.
The CSOP system shall enable the PNP to fully perform its third mandate which is to further strengthen local government capability aimed towards the effective delivery of the basic services to the citizenry in addition to two others which are to promote peace and order and to ensure public safety.
“The faithful compliance by the PNP with its third mandate will bring the police closer to the community and the PNP will be regarded by the people as partner in community development,” Escueta said.
Escueta added that the CSOP system shall be undertaken through the collaboration and cooperation of the local executives, the citizenry, and the integrated law enforcement agencies by way of program or project complementation and sharing of funds, personnel and logistics.
The Local Chief Executives, as deputies of the NAPOLCOM, shall formulate and adopt a mechanism for the collaboration and cooperation involving the local executives, citizenry and law enforcement agencies as well as other agencies existing and operating in the locality.
Escueta said that the enhanced framework of the CSOP system is currently being pilot tested in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The CSOP is in line with the government’s major reforms in strengthening the justice system and the rule of law in the country through the assistance of the European Union under the EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme II (EPJUST II)(PNA)