Police, military strengthen joint security efforts
With the national government ramping up its efforts to ensure national security, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday signed a joint directive to further strengthen the fight against communist insurgency and terrorism in the country.
PNP chief PGen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan and Gen. Gilbert Gapay, AFP Chief of Staff, signed the Joint Letter Directive 03 series of 2020, also known as the “Guidelines in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Internal Security Operations in Support to the National Thrust to End Local Communist Armed Conflict,” during the National Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (JPSCC) meeting held in Camp Crame.
Both chiefs also inked a Joint Resolution that set the parameters in declaring communist guerilla fronts as weakened or dismantled.
On hand to witness the ceremonial signing were top officials of the government’s security cluster including Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo.
“The Philippine National Police fully supports all peace and security initiatives under the framework of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center in support to the national objective to end local communist armed conflict within the defined timeline,” Cascolan said.
The JPSCC meeting is timely, Cascolan noted, as this only strengthens the unity of purpose and inter-operability between the police and military especially when it comes to the government’s counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism operations, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR).
“While we must perform our primary responsibility to serve and protect our people, it is our duty to give our best to help the AFP in defending our country by providing maximum assistance and support to the AFP especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,” stated the PNP Chief.
Aside from presenting the counterinsurgency and anti-terrorism efforts of the PNP, the event also served as a venue for Cascolan to reiterate his 9-point Strategic thrusts as part of the PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030, citing continuous campaign against loose firearms, illegal discharge of firearms, and campaign against criminal gangs, and drug suspects and peddlers.
“The signing of the Joint Letter Directive and Joint Resolution will collectively adopt all pursued cooperative efforts among the AFP and our organization to attain our goals with the end view of realizing the Filipino people’s aspirations for peace, security, stability and progress, and upholding their civil, political and human rights, under the rule of law,” he said.