Philippines

AuthorMelchor De Guzman
Pages733-746

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Official country name: Republic of the Philippines

Capital: Manila

Geographic description: Archipelago in Southeast Asia between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea

Population: 87,857,473 (est. 2005)

Philippines
LAW ENFORCEMENT
History

The Spanish colonization in the 1500s ushered in the concept of a formal national police force. The Guardia Civiles (Civil Guards) had the primary obligation of policing the occupied territories (Campos 1991). The U.S. occupation of the Philippines in 1901 introduced a national police concept called the Philippine Constabulary (PC). The PC had nationwide jurisdiction similar to its predecessor, the Guardia Civiles. It was established by the U.S. colonial government to preserve peace and order. The PC also provided the nucleus of the first regular division of the commonwealth's army in 1936. It remained an element within the army (after 1946 as the Military Police Command) until 1950, when it was reestablished as a separate force. It was formally renamed the Philippine Constabulary in 1959.

After its renaming, the PC officially constituted a national police force and essentially operated as a gendarmerie, holding primary authority for law enforcement and domestic security. It was responsible for dealing with large-scale crime, conducting wide area operations, and enforcing the peace and national laws, especially in remote areas where other forces were nonexistent or ineffective. The constabulary also played a prominent role in combating the Muslim and Communist insurgencies.

Constabulary forces throughout the country were supported and controlled through a system of regional commands, with one command in each of the country's twelve political regions. Under the operational control of the area commands, the regional commands controlled the provincial PC. These 73 provincial headquarters, in turn, supervised 234 constabulary companies, which were the constabulary's line units. Regional Special Action Companies provided backup to the line companies and acted as counterinsurgency strike forces. The constabulary also had a variety of specialized units with nationwide responsibilities that operated independently of the regional command system. These included the Criminal Investigative Service, Highway Patrol Group, Security Group, Crime Lab, and Support Command. The Philippine Constabulary Training Command was responsible for instructing enlisted constables and their

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officers, whose training paralleled that of the army. In 1983 the constabulary created an elite national reaction force, the Philippine Constabulary Special Action Force, with the capability to combat terrorism, hijacking, and insurgency. These additions contributed to the overall growth of members of the constabulary during the 1980s, from approximately 33,500 in 1980, to an estimated 45,000 members in 1990.

Until the mid-1970s, when a major restructuring of the nation's police system was undertaken, the PC alone was responsible for law enforcement on a national level. Independent city and municipal police forces took charge of maintaining peace and order on a local level, calling on the constabulary for aid when the need arose. The Police Commission, established in 1966 to improve the professionalism and training of local police, had loose supervisory authority over the police. It was widely accepted, however, that this system had several serious defects. Most noteworthy were jurisdictional limitations, lack of uniformity and coordination, disputes between police forces, and partisan political involvement in police employment, appointments, assignments, and promotions. Local political bosses routinely used police as private armies, protecting their personal interests and intimidating political opponents.

To correct such deficiencies, the 1973 constitution provided for the integration of public safety forces. Several presidential decrees were subsequently issued, integrating the police, fire, and jail services in the nation's more than 1,500 cities and municipalities. On August 8, 1975, Presidential Decree 765 officially established the joint command structure of the PC and Integrated National Police (INP). The constabulary, which had a well-developed nationwide command and staff structure, was given the task of organizing the integration. The chief of the PC served jointly as the director general of the INP. As constabulary commander, he reported through the military chain of command, and as head of the INP, he reported directly to the minister (later secretary) of national defense. The National Police Commission was transferred to the Ministry (later Department) of National Defense, retaining its oversight responsibilities but turning over authority for training and other matters to the PC and INP.

The INP was assigned responsibility for public safety, protection of lives and property, enforcement of laws, and maintenance of peace and order throughout the nation. In practice, the PC retained responsibility for dealing with serious crimes or cases involving jurisdictions separated from one another, and the INP took charge of less serious crimes and local traffic, crime prevention, and public safety.

The INP's organization paralleled that of the constabulary. The thirteen PC regional command headquarters were the nuclei for the INP's regional commands. Likewise, the constabulary's seventy-three provincial commanders, in their capacity as provincial police superintendents, had operational control of INP forces in their respective provinces. Provinces were further subdivided into 147 police districts, stations, and substations. The constabulary was responsible for patrolling remote rural areas. In metro Manila's four cities and thirteen municipalities, the INP's Metropolitan Police Force shared the headquarters of the constabulary's Capital Command. The commanding general of the Capital Command was also the director of the INP's Metropolitan Police Force and directed the operations of the capital's four police and fire districts.

As of 1985, the INP numbered some 60,000 people, a marked increase over the 1980 figure of 51,000. Approximately 10 percent of this staff were fire and prison officials, and the remainder were police. The Philippine National Police Academy provided training for INP officer cadets. Established under the INP's Training Command in 1978, the academy offered a bachelor of science degree in public safety following a two-year course of study. Admission to the school was highly competitive.

The INP was the subject of some criticism and the repeated object of reform. Police were accused of involvement in illegal activities, violent acts, and abuse. Charges of corruption were frequent. To correct the INP's image problem, the government sponsored programs to identify and punish police offenders and training designed to raise their standard of appearance, conduct, and performance.

On January 1, 1991, the PC and the INP were combined to form the Philippine National Police (PNP). The PNP was created in 1991 under Republic Act No. 6975. Dramatic changes were planned for the police in 1991. The newly formed PNP was to be a strictly civilian organization pursuant to the constitutional provision that the state shall establish and maintain one police force, which shall be national in scope and civilian in character. The PNP was also removed from the armed forces and placed under a new civilian department known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (Gutang 1993). Likewise, the PNP took immediate responsibility for most duties of the former INP and the responsibility for the counterinsurgency efforts against Muslim secessionists and Communists.

Structure and Organization
Principal Agencies and Divisions

The National Police Commission is the agency mandated by the constitution and the major police reform laws such as Republic Act Nos. 6975 and 8551 to administer and control the PNP. Under the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998 (R.A. No. 8551),

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the commission regained the powers to investigate police anomalies and irregularities and to administer police entrance examinations and is granted summary dismissal powers over erring police officers.

In 1966 Congress enacted Republic Act 4864, otherwise known as the Police Act of 1966, to provide the foundation for the much needed police reforms in the country. It created the Police Commission to achieve and attain a higher degree of efficiency in the organization, administration, and operation of local police agencies and to place the local police service on a professional level.

Since 1966 the commission had undergone several changes in its organizational structure. It was reorganized in 1972 as the National Police Commission. Originally under the Office of the President, it was transferred to the Ministry of National Defense in...

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