PNP News Releases 2005

RP-US LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSESSMENT

A joint RP-US team will conduct a three-week comprehensive assessment of the Philippine National Police in support of the ongoing PNP Transformation Plan.

PNP Chief, Director General Arturo C Lomibao has expressed gratitude for the manifestation of support to the PNP Transformation Plan, which he said is “the roadmap to building a more capable, more effective and more credible police organization that matches the people's expectations with the resources and capabilities of the police.”

The PNP Chief gave a briefing for the joint RP-US Law Enforcement Assessement team this morning at the PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame .

The assessment program aims to identify key institutional weaknesses and formulate a blueprint on how to resolve these issues, similar to the 2003 Joint Defense Assessement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines .

Composing the team of US experts are John Crow of the US Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcment (INL); and representatives from the Department of State's Counterterrorism Office, the US Department of Justice; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and the US Pacific Command's Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF-West).

Apart from the comprehensive study of the PNP organization, operations, and training at the national level, the team will also travel to Cebu, Davao , Zamboanga, Basilan, and Abra to examine local conditions and regional community policing strategies.

According to PNP Spokesman, Chief Superintendent Leopoldo N Bataoil, the ultimate goal of the assessment program is to produce a concrete set of recommendations that will help the PNP transform itself into a 21 st century police force serving the needs of the Filipino people.