Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Philippine National Police chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil attend a demonstration of the E911 system on Friday at the PNP Command Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.  ANALY LABOR
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Phl, Indonesia strengthens police cooperation after Guo's arrest

Lade Jean Kabagani

The Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to institutionalize cooperation of their police forces following the arrest of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was previously hiding in Jakarta. 

This was bared by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos in a news forum on Saturday. 

"Iyong nangyari sa (What happened in) Indonesia, you know Alice Guo, is just one case. But there are a lot of other criminals that can go through this path. So we agreed with Indonesian police, what we did was police to police, we should institutionalize this—our cooperation in these kinds of incidents,” Abalos said. 

To recall, Guo was arrested in a townhouse in Tangerang City, Indonesia earlier this week, after months of police hunting by the Philippine law enforcers. 

Abalos noted that from then on there will be an exchange of information and operations between the Philippines and Indonesia. 

He, likewise, said that both countries have committed to ending their common problem—illegal drugs and smuggling.

“This will be the start of something big because we have common enemies. So, we have common enemies as far as we are concerned — criminal activities and the criminals themselves,” he said.