Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Pol. Gen. Nicolas Torre III clarified that police will uphold human rights in carrying out arrests, following his announcement as a fresh appointee that part of the PNP’s performance metrics will be determined by the number of arrests made.
The police chief made this clear to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), as a guest of honor in its Monday flag-raising ceremony, held in the CHR office, as reported by RH 5 Val Gonzales.
In his speech before CHR officials and employees, Torre declared that one of the PNP’s current priorities is capturing criminals to rid the streets of crime nationwide.
“‘Yun lang naman ang trabaho ng pulis, ‘yun ang primary na trabaho ng pulis: alisin ang kriminal sa kalsada at sa mga community. And the only way to do that is arrest them, diba?” the top cop told reporters.
“Aalisin natin sila sa kalsada, alisin natin sila sa community sa pamamagitan ng aresto at pagdala sa kanila sa prosekusyon, at hanggang transmittal sa courts, hanggang sa sila ay ma-rehab doon sa ating rehabilitation pillar naman,” he explained.
(That is the job of the police, that is the primary job of the police: to remove criminals from the streets and communities. And the only way to do that is to arrest them, right? We will remove them from the streets, we will remove them from the communities through arrests and prosecuting them, until their cases are transmitted to the courts, and until they are rehabilitated at our rehabilitation pillar.)
The CHR welcomed the statement, with Chairperson Richard Palpal-Latoc affirming its support for the national police’s authority and duty to ensure the security of Filipinos.
“Sa amin naman po, ang importante sa amin, ay as long as the duty is performed within the bounds of the law, at kung kailangan ho nang gumamit ng puwersa ng kapulisan, puwede naman po ‘yan, as long as it is necessary at commensurate to the force being confronted with,” Palpal-Latoc said.
(For us, what is important is that as long as the duty is performed within the bounds of the law, and if the police must use force, that is alright—as long as it is necessary and commensurate to the force being confronted with.)
Earlier, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued a directive calling on the police to safeguard all communities and help Filipinos feel their surroundings are secure.
