LAMITAN CITY, Basilan —The Philippine National Police-BARMM Regional Internal Affairs Office has started the annual inspection and audit in the region.
Atty Richard Opinion, Director of RIAS-BARMM. said that the PNP will audit whether the performance of the police is lackluster, and will see if it is in line with the PNP’s mandate.
Opinion visited Lamitan City Police Office on March 20, 2023, to start the audit. He emphasized the importance of having self-discipline even in serving the community.
“Based on our assessment of our first rotation which is in Basilan, several municipalities that we have assessed as performing well because we have discovered that in Basilan there are already municipalities which are declared drug-free so what this means is that our policemen perform based on our mandate,” Opinion said.
Opinion said that the internal affairs service’s big challenge is how to sustain the mandate and the discipline of the police in their service to the Filipino people.
He said discipline in law enforcement is also important in restoring the trust of the citizens in the police, “When there are lapses, then IAS will come in to at least correct the mistake and prevent it from happening again.” He added that the police need to understand the disciplinary mechanism in their ranks. He said offenders should be given a chance to change as he assured that intentional wrongdoings will definitely be held accountable under the law.
Opinion requested the support of Basilan Provincial Police Director Police Col Narciso Paragas in extending the internal disciplinary mechanism among the ranks of the police in the province by going to the chiefs of police of each town so that they can be guided on how to better implement the said discipline.
He added that the reputation of the police must not be tarnished by bad behavior, especially in the involvement of illegal drugs. “The anti-illegal drugs campaign of the PNP will continue,” Opinion said.
“Regional Internal Affairs Service wants to maintain the integrity and credibility of the police service,” Opinion said.
