TWO House leaders on Thursday defended President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to increase police visibility in communities, rejecting Vice President Sara Duterte’s criticism that such patrol strategies were outdated and ineffective.
In a televised interview, Duterte mocked the President’s crime prevention policy, questioning the decision to place more uniformed personnel in public areas.
But House Assistant Majority Leader and Manila 1st District Rep. Ernesto “Ernix” Dionisio Jr. and House Ad Hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation Chairman and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong flatly disagreed, saying the Vice President’s remarks ignored the proven role of police presence in deterring crime.
“I beg to differ. ‘Yung police visibility is always a deterrent for a crime. Seeing physically a police officer, a law enforcement in the streets is a very strong deterrent to criminals,” Dionisio said during a press conference.
At the same time, Dionisio said it was wrong to claim the government is neglecting efforts to modernize the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Dionisio recounted his recent visit to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, where officials were shown high-tech upgrades in police response systems.
“Truth be told, we were there yesterday sa Crame. We met with our new PNP chief Gen. [Nicolas] Torre. Pinakita niya sa amin ‘yung quick response ng ating kapulisan. Meron silang command center sa Crame na namo-monitor from Luzon to Mindanao,” he said.
Dionisio continued: “Nakita namin dun sa monitor na at a single notice na may tumawag, makikita na ‘yung foot patrol na nakikita sa vicinity nung pinangyayarihan ng crime. So it’s not true that walang ginagawang technological advancements. Parehong ginagawa, may technological advancements and at the same time nandyadyan pa rin ‘yung physical presence.”
Adiong agreed, saying the goal of law enforcement is not just to react to crime but to prevent it before it happens.
“Ako naniniwala ako dun sa sinabi ni PNP chief na they should be out there in the streets. Sabi nga it’s a deterrent, tama po, police visibility is a deterrent na mangyayari ang mga krimen,” Adiong said.
“The word actually is—the catch word is—prevention. Hindi lang ‘yung actual investigation or running after criminals, but even to prevent a crime to even happen in the first place,” he added.
Adiong explained that police officers are not hired for clerical work, but to protect communities.
“The police should actually be out on the streets because the police are not just simply for clerical purposes… these are clerical jobs. In the first place, the police is to serve and protect. They should be out there para ma-prevent ‘yung mga nangyayaring krimen and to respond to the call of distress,” he said.
He also praised the new technology rolled out by the PNP, including real-time monitoring and the use of body cameras linked to a central system.
“In fact, meron na silang mga additional na gadgets… camera attached sa kanilang katawan na naka-link na sya automatic sa internet. So kung titingnan mo maski saan sila pumunta meron silang IT operation doon sa PNP. Real time nakikita ng headquarters. That’s an improvement,” Adiong narrated.
He said these reforms ensure not just efficiency but professionalism within the ranks.
“When you talk about modernization, that’s one aspect that I guess we need to commend the current chief PNP for introducing. We also maintain ‘yung professionalism ng ating mga pulis kasi nakikita kung ano ‘yung trabaho nila, kung ano ‘yung ginagawa nila, papano sila rumesponde,” Adiong said.
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