Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of Bicol Saro party-list group expressed support for the plan of newly appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil to use technology and social media to improve law enforcement.
Yamsuan, a former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said this strategy, complemented by Marbil’s plan to use social media to help the police organization communicate better with the public, “is a major step in building the public’s trust and confidence in the PNP.”
“We laud the appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of General Marbil as the new chief of the Philippine National Police. We are optimistic that with General Marbil at the helm of the PNP, substantial investments in technology and innovation will be made to better equip the PNP in protecting the public and meeting new challenges to law enforcement,” Yamsuan, chair of the House committee on Bicol Affairs and Economic Development, said.
“General Marbil has my full support when it comes to improving the PNP’s efficiency in enforcing the law through the use of digital tools and modern crime investigation techniques. This strategy will also enhance transparency in police operations and help the PNP garner support from the public in its job of preventing crime, ” added Yamsuan, who is also a member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety.
Marbil’s success in spearheading the PNP’s digital transformation is crucial to fulfilling President Marcos Jr.’s marching orders for him to address emerging threats to the country’s peace and order, such as cybercrime, terrorism and transnational crimes, Yamsuan said.
As a former DILG official, Yamsuan suggested that Marbil also focus on ensuring the regular training and continuing education of the PNP’s uniformed personnel to keep them abreast of new laws pertaining to criminal investigations and prevent allegations of illegal arrests.
Yamsuan noted that in several hearings conducted by the House public order and safety committee, police officers called before the panel have often been accused of conducting illegal arrests and violating the PNP’s operational procedures.
“We hope that under General Marbil’s leadership, the PNP would also invest in the training and continuing education of police officers to prevent misconduct and at the same time, improve the PNP’s evidence gathering techniques and conviction rates in criminal cases,” Yamsuan said.
He pointed out a report quoting the Department of Justice (DOJ) as saying that 80 to 90 percent of cases filed by prosecutors are dismissed by the courts because of lack of evidence or as a result of technicalities. These shortcomings are often committed by law enforcers at the scene of the crime.
Yamsuan said the widespread use of the PNP of tamper-proof body-worn cameras and the shift to modern crime investigation techniques as he had proposed in House Bill (HB) 7975 will likewise aid Marbil in realizing his goal of transforming the PNP into a modern police force truly worthy of being called the “protectors of the people.”
