PNP calls for respect to policemen securing protest actions
The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged protesters and other individuals to respect the policemen who are tasked to secure places and events, saying they are just performing their peace and order mandate.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. said that while they respect the right of groups to protest and recognize the duty of individuals from various sectors to do their job, this should not be done at the expense of disrespecting policemen in uniform.
For Nartatez, police officers do not deserve to be either assaulted or subjected to verbal abuse in the performance of their duty.
“Just like everybody, your police have a job to do, an order to comply with, and a mandate to perform. Any form of disrespect to our personnel on the ground is an attack to our uniform, to our badge, and to the PNP as an organization,” said Nartatez.
“We are not asking for too much, we are merely asking for respect in recognition of the sacrifices of our men on the ground,” he stressed.
Nartatez appears to be referring to an incident involving photojournalists in a rally on Wednesday, July 22 involving a dispersal after protesters gathered in an area where rallies were not allowed because of the presence of foreign delegates.
PNP spokesman Col. Allen Rae Co said that one of the photojournalists involved made some “unsavory remarks because of the heat of the moment”.
Nartatez, for his part, explained that the national government has the obligation to ensure the safety of every delegate being the host country and the police were given special instruction to protect the venue as part of the security measures.
He added that police personnel had difficulty immediately distinguishing protesters from other individuals inside the crowd while enforcing security measures, especially with the existing instruction to clear the area of any protest activity.
Nevertheless, he said the PNP said it is open to any investigation to establish all the facts of the incident.
Co said the incident is now being investigated.
The incident happened as the PNP is also finalizing the security measures for Monday's State of the Nation Address. More than 21,000 policemen will be deployed to secure the Batasang Pambansa area in Quezon City and nearby places.