Torre says VP Sara's attack on PNP taken as constructive criticisms
Criticisms of Vice President Sara Duterte against the Philippine National Police (PNP) are all taken as constructive efforts to improve the services of the police, the country’s top cop, Gen. Nicolas Torre III, said.
“I express my gratitude to her for her criticisms of our operations. We always want those ideas and for that matter, we welcome the ideas of the other Filipinos and the purpose of this is to ensure fast and improved delivery of police services,” said Torre.
The Chief PNP was reacting to the reported statement of the Vice President hitting the PNP leadership for prioritizing police visibility over the use of modern technology in crime fighting and prevention.
Torre earlier vowed to implement the five-minute police response across the country and emphasized the need for cops to be on the streets to attain such a goal. Torre was also quoted asking the public not to look for cops in police stations and instead use 911 to call for police assistance.
But Torre said the PNP has been incorporating technology in preventing crime and in running after law offenders.
For one, he said the Vice President herself was a witness to the incorporation of modern technology to police actions and operations.
“I believe she still remembers the time when I invited her to be our guest of honor and speaker in one of our flag-raising ceremonies and she went there and we showed her the integration of our various monitoring instruments in the entire Quezon City,” said Torre.
In some local government units for instance, Torre said police were given access to closed-circuit television cameras.
Recently, Torre met with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the PNP to be given access to the cameras being used for the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) for crime prevention and response.
And in order for Duterte to personally see the transformation of the PNP, Torre invited the Vice President to visit Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“Rest assured we are making leaps and bounds in integrating these technologies in our operations,” said Torre.