Mayors also bear responsibility for criminality

FILIPINOS fed up with the impunity of motorcycle-riding gunmen who kill and rob hapless victims can relate with the exasperation of Sen. Richard Gordon last week when he jeered Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa over failure of police to effectively address riding-in-tandem crimes.

Indeed, those who are immensely dissatisfied over the current peace and order situation in their localities amid the seeming inaction of law enforcers and the brazenness of ridingin-tandem criminals who strike even in broad daylight and in busy places, have all the right to vent their frustration on the nation’s top cop.

Unbeknownst to many, however, is the fact that aside from the PNP chief, it is the local officials, especially city and municipal mayors, who are also responsible for crime prevention and maintenance of peace and order in their respective areas.

This is because the mayors, in accordance with the law that established the PNP (RA 6975), have “operational supervision and control” over police units within their jurisdiction, having been deputized as representatives of the National Police Commission which exercises administrative control over the PNP. The mayors are duty-bound to exercise such power except during the30-day period before and after elections.

The governor, on the other hand, has the power to choose the PNP provincial director from a list of three eligible police officers recommended by the PNP regional director. Also, as chairman of the provincial peace and order council, the governor “shall oversee the implementation of the provincial public safety plan, which is prepared taking into consideration the integrated community safety plans.”

Section 51 of RA 6975 defines operational supervision and control as “the power to direct, superintend, oversee, and inspect the police units and forces. It shall include the power to employ and deploy units or elements of the PNP, through the station commander, to ensure public safety and effective maintenance of peace and order within the locality.”

The law states: “For this purpose, the term ‘employ’ and ‘deploy’ shall mean as follows:

‘Employ’ refers to utilization of units or elements of the PNP for purposes of protection of lives and properties, enforcement of laws, maintenance of peace and order, prevention of crimes, arrest of criminal offenders and bringing the offenders to justice, and ensuring public safety, particularly in the suppression of disorders, riots, lawless violence, rebellious seditious conspiracy, insurgency, subversion or other related activities. ‘Deploy’ shall mean the orderly organized physical movement of elements or units of the PNP within the province, city, or municipality for purposes of employment as herein defined.”

The law also states that the mayor, in coordination with the local peace and order council of which he is the chairman, shall “develop and establish an integrated area/community public safety plan embracing priorities of action and program thrusts for implementation by the local PNP stations.”

From the aforementioned provisions of RA 6975, it is clear that these elected local executives are supposed to be on top of every situation involving public safety and they are duty-bound to utilize the police force within their jurisdiction in providing the most basic of public services – maintenance of peace and order and ensuring the safety of citizens.

Therefore, if a particular locality is a perennially crime-prone area, the mayor is also to blame for failing miserably to fulfill the primary responsibility of protecting citizens. Many believe that the mayor could even be liable for criminal negligence for failure to adequately utilize the police or establish a public safety plan with sufficient measures aimed at protecting life and property.

But while it is essential for local officials to work closely with police authorities to ensure public safety, crime prevention is basically everyone’s concern. And citizens can do a lot to help fight crime and strengthen the criminal justice system, especially in the aspects of reporting crime, gathering evidence, and identifying perpetrators through valuable information elicited from the community.

Citizens can also pressure local governments for more CCTVs in high-crime areas, more police patrols, more police visibility, including mobile or rotating checkpoints that deter motorcycle-riding killers from going on a murderous rampage or help apprehend those fleeing a crime scene.

And if mayors continue to fail miserably in their task to protect life and property by utilizing their power over the police, then citizens can use the power of the ballot to seek redress.