Soon, policemen and soldiers maybe seen conducting beat patrol as anti-crime buddies.
Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has requested the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for augmentation forces in the conduct of crime prevention measures in major urban and other densely-populated areas.
Azurin said he coursed the request to AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro during their trip to Hawaii where they met with US defense officials.
He said the plan is to deploy soldiers as buddies of policemen in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Davao City, Cebu City and Baguio City.
"With the start of 'ber' months, we need to beef up our deployments in areas with high convergence of people. We need to beef up our presence and visibility," said Azurin in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday, Oct. 3.
"During my visit to Hawaii, I also talked to the Chief of Staff and I told him if we could request for manpower as augmentation. He agreed," he added.
Azurin said policemen and soldiers working together in the the conduct of beat patrol is not something new.
He said that this was also done during the time of then PNP chief Panfilo Lacson.
"We did that before wherein policemen and soldiers were buddies," said Azurin.
The deployment of soldiers for peace and order was also done at the height of the lockdown period for the Covid-19 pandemic amid reports of rampant violation of health protocols especially in Metro Manila and nearby areas.
The deployment of soldiers during the lockdowns were found effective in compelling the people to behave, official said.