Incoming PNP chief: Armed barangay tanods ‘dangerous’

Incoming top cop Chief Superintendent Ronald dela Rosa on Saturday said that arming barangay tanods with firearms is a "very dangerous proposal."

"Prone to abuse... Magiging private army ng mga kapitan iyan," Dela Rosa told radio dzBB in an interview when asked for reaction to the proposed arming of barangay tanods to help in the campaign against criminality.

Dela Rosa said that he prefers providing non-lethal weapons, including truncheons, to barangay tanods

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte had announced that he will appoint Dela Rosa as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) after he takes his oath on June 30.

Duterte had said that he will recruit Special Civilian Active Auxiliaries (SCAA) and arm them to help in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Based on Duterte's plan, the armed civilians would be under the direct supervision of the barangay captain, they would have to report to the police commander of their towns.

Duterte had said drug lords and pushers are armed with guns and those going after them should be armed as well.

Dela Rosa, meanwhile, said in the radio interview he prefers "quality over quantity" in the fight against crime.

"Ako I'm not after quantity, I'm after quality," the incoming PNP chief said, referring to the proposed recruitment of civilians as force multipliers in the fight against crime.

"Kahit kaunti lang ang pulis, okay lang basta's ginagawa nila ang kanilang trabaho," he added. —ALG, GMA News