The governments of the Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to institutionalize cooperation between their police forces, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said over the weekend.
DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said this developed following the high-profile arrest of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was hiding in Indonesia.
“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 talked to the Indonesian police—what we did like this, police-to-police, it’s going to be institutionalized. This is a cooperation, we will work together,” Abalos said in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.
Abalos said an exchange of information and operations between the Philippines and Indonesia will be facilitated.
“They (Indonesians) are also in trouble. They have a large border in the water. We (the Philippines) have a large border in the water and we have few boats. We have very few helicopters to patrol. So, there will be a conversation, exchange of information, exchange of operations. That’s what we agreed on,” the DILG chief added.
Guo was arrested earlier this week in a townhouse in Tangerang City, Indonesia. She was brought back to the Philippines early Friday via a private plane.
Following her capture, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Friday said he expects the disgraced former mayor to explain how the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) became “a large criminal enterprise” in her home turf.
The President also said Guo has to explain how she got elected and accumulated a significant amount of wealth.
In the same forum, Abalos also acknowledged that illegal drugs and smuggling were a common enemy for both the Philippines and Indonesia.
“This will be the start of something big because we have common enemies. Number one, the [illegal] drugs, and number two, smuggling in that area, and more. We have been told that there are other operations that may be going through the Philippines. I just won’t mention it. So, we have common enemies as far as we are concerned—criminal activities and the criminals themselves,” he said.
