NCRPO bans wearing of SWAT uniforms by Metro police

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Manila police chief Director Jefferson Soriano on Friday banned Metro Manila cops from wearing Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) uniforms following a recent robbery at a private college wherein suspects posed as cops in SWAT shirts. During the weekly Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis (TSIP) forum at Camp Crame, Soriano said the ban is part of "crime prevention," saying several criminals pose as cops using the SWAT uniform. The Metro Manila police chief has ordered cops to wear regular police uniform instead. Soriano issued the ban after 10 heavily-armed men posing as cops clad in SWAT shirts broke into St. Scholastica's College in Malate, Manila, last October 31, disarming its security guards and taking away their guns and other valuables. The NCR police chief said they are hoping to "neutralize" the suspects before Christmas, adding that the incident was not only a crime against the people in Metro Manila but also a desecration of the Philippine National Police as an organization. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV