NAPOLCOM's Aguirre wants SOCO independent from PNP

National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) vice chairman and executive officer Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday proposed that the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) be removed from the supervision of the Philippine National Police.

Aguirre told reporters that SOCO should be independent from the police force but still be attached to NAPOLCOM to avoid being "pressured" by higher offices.

"Napag-usapan namin 'to ng isang CSI, crime scene investigator sa Amerika... isang taon nang pinaguusapan namin 'to na nakikita niya na ang ating SOCO ay susceptible sa pressure, sa political pressure and even the pressure from the higher-ups," he said.

Removing SOCO under PNP's supervision, he said, will "insulate" it from pressure.

A former Department of Justice secretary, Aguirre said he mentioned this proposal during the two Senate hearings he attended last week.

PNP chief Police General Debold Sinas, meanwhile, refused to comment on Aguirre's proposal, saying he will just wait for its outcome.

"I will just wait what is the outcome kasi nga that's a policy statement. So hintayin na lang po namin ano ang kinalabasan," Sinas said.

"So kung ano man po ay sila po ang nakakataas sa amin. So siguro they will discuss it thoroughly and come up with an internal policy for the PNP to follow," he added. —KBK, GMA News