700 cops to attend seminar on law and jurisprudence

At least 700 tourist cops of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will participate in a three-day seminar on law and jurisprudence starting today.

NCRPO chief Director Ricardo de Leon said respected members of the bar and esteemed experts would be invited to speak before the members of the Tourist-Oriented Policing (TOP) Cop program.

De Leon emphasized that such seminars are important to keep uniformed PNP personnel abreast with the salient changes in law and jurisprudence, which every policeman ought to know in its day-to-day law enforcement functions.

"To effectively enforce the law, police officers are required to have a full grasp of the statutes we are implementing," said De Leon. "This is part of our committment to serve and protect. Our best weapon against criminality is a full understanding of the provisions of the law."

Members of the Tourist Police from the five police districts and the Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU) were chosen to attend the symposia. The first batch of 350 personnel will start training today while the second batch will start on Aug. 23.

The seminar is sponsored by the University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center’s Institute of Government and Law Reform in close coordination with the PNP Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development (DHRDD).

Included in the seminar are lectures on Custodial Investigation by lawyer Linda Hornilla; Evidence by Prof. Victoria Avena; Arrests, Searches, and Seizures by Justice Ricardo Galvez; Criminal Law by Justice Rodolfo Palattao; Criminal Procedures by Prosecutor Gregorio Arizala, and the Constitution with emphasis on Bill of Rights by Prof. Carmelo Sison.

Earlier, some 50 tourist cops also attended a four-day seminar organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT) aimed at enhancing the diplomatic skills of the participants to effectively implement measures under the NCRPO’s TOP Cop program.

The participants took courses on basic language and international culture to prepare for dealing with local and foreign tourists and to make them true ambassadors of goodwill.

De Leon pointed out that the current thrust of the NCRPO is to create the right atmosphere for re-establishing Metro Manila as the country’s tourist hub in close coordination with the DOT, local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs).

He is also hoping that the creation of the task group will greatly contribute to President Arroyo’s 10-point program, especially thecrreation of 10 million jobs.

The TOP Cop program implements a sustained crime prevention program anchored on a round-the-clock police visibility campaign for a no-nonsense, zero tolerance enforcement of laws and ordinances in different localities where tourists thrive.

The operatives will focus on crimes such as the violation of the anti-littering and anti-jaywalking ordinances and the laws on anti-mendicancy, illegal vending and anti-vandalism. — Non Alquitran