PNP emphasizes lawful arrests following Torre's directive

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Saturday said that any arrests made by its officers must have a legal basis. 

The remark came after new PNP chief Nicolas Torre III stated that a police officer's arrest record would be considered when deciding whether or not to promote him or her.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo clarified that the number of arrests made by an officer is only one of four factors for promotion, along with education, eligibility, and training.

She said that the statement had been made by Torre in line with their intensified anti-criminality efforts and that the arrests were not only limited to drug suspects.

“Ang sinasabi nga po niya [ay] ano ba ang pangunahing trabaho ng pulis?... Magpatupad ng batas, siguraduhin na ligtas at payapa yung ating pamayanan. The only way na we could ensure na magiging ligtas ang ating mga mamamayan ay kung manghuhuli tayo ng mga kriminal sa daan. The only way we could do that ay kailangan manghuli,” she said.

(What he was saying [is that] what exactly is the primary job of a police officer?... It is to enforce the law and ensure that society is safe and peaceful. The only way we could ensure that the citizens are safe is if we arrest criminals on the road. The only way we can do that is to actually make arrests.)

“Ang sabi niya baka po puwede nating bigyan ng premium yung mga nakakahuli… Ang sabi nga ng ating chief PNP, isa sa napakahirap na trabaho ng pulis ay yung manghuli… Dapat ay ah marami tayong nahuhuli dahil maraming kriminal na nagkalat sa daan,” she added.

(What he’s saying is that perhaps we can give a premium to those who make arrests… Like what our chief PNP said, one of the hardest jobs of a police officer is to make an arrest… They should make a lot of arrests because there are many criminals on the road.)

Earlier, the Commission on Human Rights urged Torre to release a clear directive that include a provision that arrests will not be based on numbers but on the right procedure for arresting people.

“Hindi tayo huhuli ng mga inosenteng tao na makita lang natin sa daan ay huhulihin... Hindi po puwedeng ang isang pulis para lang maka-comply ay kukuha lang siya ng mga inosenteng tao…  Tayo ay tutungtong pa rin po doon sa tinatawag po nating due process at sa ligal na pamamaraan po ng panghuli po,” Fajardo said.

(We can’t arrest innocent people that we just see on the road, and just suddenly arrest… A police officer can’t just grab an innocent person just to comply… We will still lead to what we call a due process and legal procedure of making arrests.)

Fajardo also said that Torre was urging police officers to act when they see crimes during patrol, which is part of his efforts to increase police visibility.

“Habang tayo ay nagpapatrol, may nakita na may nag-snatch, hindi pupuwedeng  tumalikod lang 'yung pulis natin dahil takot siyang manghuli, takot siyang makasuhan naman. Dapat ganon yung active stance ng mga pulis natin, na dapat habang nasa daan ka ay nagmamatyag ka, na kapagka meron diyan na bigla na lang ah sasalisi, bigla na lang for whatever reason ay may gagawing kriminal ay dapat [rumesponde],” she said.

(While we are doing patrols, if we see someone getting snatched, our police can’t just turn their backs because they’re scared of making arrests and are scared of being sued. That should be the active stance of our police, that while you are patrolling the roads, if someone suddenly does a modus or does anything criminal for whatever reason, you should [respond].)

5-minute response time

Fajardo said that the PNP will begin to impose a 5-minute response time for police officers in Metro Manila and other major cities like Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo.

She said that the intention of the order was to increase police visibility in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to ensure police presence is felt nationwide.

“Matagal na po natin ma'am ini-implement, yung 911… Ang kagandahan po nito ay kahit po ikaw ay walang load o wala [kang] mobile data ay kakayanin niyo pong i-dial yan ng 911 po. Maganda po itong programa po na ito at hinihikayat po natin ang ating mga kababayan na subukan po ito para po kahit paano, kung para po may mga kailangan i-improve po ay ma-improve po natin ito para ma-achieve po natin itong gusto po natin na 5-minute response po,” she said.

(We have long implemented the 911… The beauty of this is even if you have no load or no mobile data, you can dial 911. This program is great, and we encourage our fellow citizens to try this so that if there’s something we need to improve, we can improve it so we can achieve the 5-minute response.) —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News