The Philippine National Police (PNP) has forged an agreement with a Europe-based non-governmental organization (NGO) to strengthen human rights-based policing in the country amid allegations of extra-judicial killings and other rights violations in the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs.
PNP chief Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said the agreement with the Hans Seidel Foundation of Germany is aimed at further improving the law enforcement and peace and order at the community level.
“The Memorandum of Understanding is aimed at further strengthening PNP commitment to promote advocacy for community oriented and rights-based policing, development initiatives promoting the rule of law and human rights, and increasing knowledge and information exchange with and among the citizenry,” said Cascolan.
Based on initial agreement, the PNP and Hanns Seidel will have a collaborative engagement by means of promoting gender mainstreaming in the police force; practical, community-oriented, case-based training methods for police officers; regional dialogue on police training to address regional concerns; and community-based dialogue sessions on human rights promotion and protection.
The MOU was signed between Cascolan and Hans Seidel Representative Gotz Heinicke.
“This agreement will extend the efforts of two parties in promoting continued enhancements in exploring human resource and policy development in these crucial times,” said Cascolan.
“The MOU will also enhance our efforts on training and education, research and publication, international and regional exchange, and project development enshrined in our PNP Sustainable Development Plan,” he added.
Since 1979, the Hanns Seidel Foundation has been active in helping the law enforcement sector through development assistance in cooperation with various partner organizations in the Philippines. The foundation is a non-governmental entity organized by the Federal Republic of Germany and supporting projects and programs in more than 60 countries nationwide.
The PNP has been criticized over allegations of extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations, including corruption and planting of evidence, in its drug war. The PNP leadership, however, has repeatedly denied these allegations, saying it has been upholding people’s rights as stipulated in its Police Operational Procedure.