CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) — Police Regional Office 3 (PRO 3) will implement several measures to regain public trust following recent controversies facing the service branch.
“Shaping public perception in favor of the Philippine National Police (PNP) remains a big challenge. Believe me or not, when the public is more suspicious with the police we can hardly accomplish half of the task at hand. Thus in order to meet the requisites on internal cleansing, several measures will be implemented,” Newly-installed PRO 3 Acting Regional Director PBGen. Rhodel O. Sermonia said during Tuesday’s Assumption of Command Ceremony.
First is the establishment of a “Red Team” in every province which is going to be supervised by senior officers.
“The point is, I will rather catch you doing good than catch you flat footed doing the bad things. That will be the job of the Red Team. They will not only catch crooked policemen and women but also ensure that all programs will be properly implemented and felt by the people because that is the only way we can measure our accomplishment,” he said.
Second, PRO 3 will implement an Open-Door Policy for all police stations adhering totally to the tenets of transparency to win the hearts and minds of the people.
“Our desks (at police stations) must be Police-Community Relations meaning we serve and protect the people with smile and confidence,” he furthered.
Sermonia said he is going to start this Open-Door Policy in the Regional Headquarters in Camp Olivas.
“The Office of the Regional Director will be open 24/7. I made this during my stint at Police-Community Relations Group. I will see to it that there is a personnel on duty at my office to accept and entertain our kababayans 24/7,” he stressed.
And lastly, the Regional and Provincial Mobile Forces will be utilized to augment in community engagement activities.
“All mobile forces will be doing police-community relations works in support to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, in support to the Anti-Criminality Programs, and in support to the War against Drugs,” Sermonia said.
A member of Philippine Military Academy Makatao Class of 1989, Sermonia previously served as Deputy Director of the Directorate for Police Community Relations and Director of Police-Community Relations Group.
He replaced PBGen. Joel Napoleon M. Coronel who is the new head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
PNP Officer-In-Charge PLt.Gen. Archie Francisco F. Gamboa served as presiding officer of the Assumption of Command Ceremony. (CLJD-PIA 3)