Poe, Hontiveros OK with NCRPO’s plan to deploy female cops to front desk duty but…  

 
At least two senators have expressed appreciation over the National Capital Region Police Office’s (NCRPO) plan to remove male police officers from front desk duty and replace them with their female colleagues.
 
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, however, said she hopes the move should not in any way “typecast” the female officers for the position of “customer relations.”
 
“Laging nakakabuti na magdagdag tayo ng kababaihan sa kahit anong organisasyon, lalo na sa ating kapulisan na alam nating male-dominated. Sana nga lang ay hindi i-‘type cast’ o limitahan ng posisyong ‘customer relations’ ang ating mga babaeng pulis (It is always good to add women to any organization, especially our police force which we know will be dominated. I just hope that our female police officers will not be 'type cast' or limited by the position of 'customer relations,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
 
The senator reiterated women can do more when given the opportunity to lead in major operations.
 
“Hindi ba’t babaeng agent ang nakahuli sa tinawag na (Isn’t a female agent who was able to capture the) ‘world's worst pedophile’?” she pointed out.
 
“Patunay na kayang-kaya ng mga babaeng law enforcer na maging lider (It’s a testament that women law enforcers are capable of being a leader), intelligence officers, even ground commanders, in the line of fire. Women’s proficiencies go beyond the desk,” she reiterated.
 
She said women can excel in many roles if given the chance. “And I still look forward to the first woman PNP (Philippine National Police) chief,” Hontiveros reiterated.
 
Hontiveros said she also hopes that women who are already in the police force can help steer the PNP towards a more humane, inclusive, and rights-based standard of conduct. 
 
“Tulong-tulong tayong mga babae (Let's help each other, girls),” she said. 
 
Sen. Grace Poe also lauded the move saying that creating a dedicated space for women as front desk officers could be a potential solution to the under-reporting and under-recording especially of gender-based violence.
 
“We know women to be more compassionate and more approachable, yet tough and determined,” Poe said in a separate statement.
 
But she said the plan should not stop the NCRPO from continuously exerting efforts to make the male members of the police force more gender-sensitive.
 
“At the end of the day, good cops - female or male - will bolster the faith of people in the justice system and close the gap between communities and the police,” Poe reiterated.