Police officers in the metropolis must interact with the communities they serve.
Thus said Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, in an interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s online show Straight Talk.
Nartatez said he had ordered every uniformed personnel of the Metro Manila police force to be always visible on the streets.
“Our police must have the mastery of the community they serve,” he said, pointing out that this can be done only if the police step outside their headquarters or station.
He jested that they are supposed to have sun-kissed complexion, which indicates they are actively involved with local communities.
“Kapag maputi ang pulis, lagi lang sa loob yan (If the cop is faired skinned, he is always at their headquarters),” he said.
The Philippine National Police, he said, has numerous engagement activities. One is the BIDA (Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan) initiative led by Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr.
This is on top of activities in churches, schools, and even barangays.
“These are (small things), but my specific instruction is for them to truly engage the community (in peace and order),” he said, referring to the need for every police station commander to have the phone number of the barangay (village) chairman.
This is also why he instructed metro cops to participate in the NCRPO’s Project Bathala, which requires maximum police visibility in churches every Sunday.
“They (police) can also attend the mass or be on the church premises, for the community (to feel safer and see the presence of their policemen),” Nartatez said.
In schools, Nartatez wants policemen to lead the flag-raising ceremony and the oath of allegiance.
“In this way, children may idolize them,” he said.
He said these simple gestures of seeing the police in community activities will surely make residents realize that the image of the Philippine National Police is really changing for the better.