One police force only

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

There is great sense in the opposition of Director General Alan Purisima of Philippine National Police to the suggestion for a separate police entity for the proposed Bansamoro to be set up in Mindanao.

Purisima aired his opposition after consultations during the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The Police director general stood firm on his view that there should only be one police organization for the country, to which the Bangsamoro also belongs.

Indeed, having a separate police force could only mean potential conflicts in the treatment of incidents, especially involving crimes where the police who belong to the Bangsamoro and those in the country’s national police will not see eye-to-eye in their approaches.

Early reports on the ongoing peace talks had indicated that the MILF want its fighters to be integrated in the Philippine military, but the situation involving the police has not been discussed yet.

From what we hear about the terms and conditions being taken up, and the concessions being sought or granted, it looks as if the government has already been giving in to a lot of what the MILF as seeking. For instance, there is the matter of finance where what had been taken up is the possibility of granting the Bangsamoro 75 percent of the income of the area, with the national government taking 25 percent. With that, the idea of giving the region greater autonomy is apparently well addressed.

In the case of the police, the objections of Purisima are well-grounded. He knows how important it is to have a well-trained, well-disciplined and unified police force, imbued with ethical characters and loyalty to country and people. That is why he is insisting on considering only as members of the police those who meet the proper educational, physical and emotional qualifications.

The idea behind the unifications talks is for a united and cohesive people comprising our population. Any divisive factor should be eliminated in the course of the negotiations, or we will be back to where we were before.*