MANILA, Philippines — One critical thing that many agree on these days is that sustained economic growth and social development can take place only in an atmosphere of peace and order. For how can we attract substantial investments, both foreign and local, and create jobs for the local population in, say, Mindanao, where kidnapping-for-ransom and terrorist bombings take place with frightening regularity?

By the same token, how can government personnel implement vital infrastructure projects and deliver social services like health and education especially to far-flung rural communities if armed rebels or terrorist groups are likely to wait in ambush for them?

So it is very reassuring that the Philippine National Police, acting on instructions from President Aquino, also the Commander-in-Chief, has organized a task force that will undertake joint operations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in intensified efforts to fight crime, terrorism, and armed insurgency.

According to the PNP Chief, Director General Raul M. Bacalzo, the President’s directive was “to integrate men and resources of the AFP and the PNP for optimum operations against criminality, terrorism, and insurgency.”

For Bacalzo, this “is a major step forward in the joint effort of the armed forces and the police to enable an environment that ensures productive and peaceful living for all communities across the Philippines.”

What is new here is that the military-police task force will “wield the combined might of inter-operability and the partnership of the community” to fight criminality.

The joint task force will initially focus on fighting lawless elements, particularly kidnapping groups, that operate in Cotabato City and other areas in Mindanao.

Under the set-up, the PNP component of the Joint Task Force will consist of police commandos of the Special Action Force and the Regional Public Safety Management Battalions of Police Regional Office 12 and ARMM.

The police task force will receive intelligence and investigative support from the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) and the Intelligence Group, and will be backed by a legal offensive team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and PNP Legal Services.

“There is always strength in numbers. Combined with the wider network of intelligence and community support, the task of fighting kidnapping syndicates and those who abet or aid them becomes manageable,” Bacalzo pointed out.

The PNP Chief emphasized, however, that they are “counting not only on the added manpower and fighting strength of the AFP, but also the sustained vigilance of our citizens in every community that is under threat.”

The PNP mission is to enforce the law, prevent and control crimes, maintain peace and order, and ensure public safety and internal security with the active support of the community.

This definition of the police mission, as I see it, makes community involvement in peace and order indispensable.

In other words, while it is the main job of the police to fight crime, the citizenry should also do their part by reporting crimes in progress and helping keep the peace in communities through the tanod system.

This is as it should be. Even the 135,000-strong PNP is still hampered by lack of adequate personnel. The ideal police-to-population ratio is 1:500, but given the country’s current population of 95 million, the ratio stands at 1:700.

More than this, given the country’s over-all level of economic development, the government can only allocate limited resources for crimefighting, in the same way that our armed forces lack the requisite equipment and logistics to amply defend the country from both external and internal threats.

Having said that, I believe that despite the involvement of a handful of cops in wrongdoing and even outright criminal activities, the PNP has made significant gains in fighting both street crime and organized crime. The latter includes syndicates engaged in trafficking in illegal drugs, bank robberies, kidnap-for-ransom, carjacking, and illegal gambling.

Apart from fighting criminality, law enforcers are also expected to help in combating terrorism and the armed rebellion waged by dissidents and Muslim separatists.

From my vantage point, I think the President’s directive for the police and the military to launch joint operations against crime, terrorism, and rebellion is very timely and appropriate, and deserves the full support of the citizenry.