05/01/2016
New Year’s Message of
PDG RICARDO C MARQUEZ
Chief, Philippine National Police
New Year’s Call on the Chief, PNP
PNP-MPC, Camp Crame, Quezon City
January 5, 2016
Malugod kong binabati ang lahat ng miyrembro ng Pambansang Pulisya, ang inyong mga pamilya, at ang sambayanang Pilipino ng isang Masagana at Mapayapang Bagong Taon!
I am happy to welcome 2016 in the company of the men and women of the Philippine National Police who, for the past several months, have stood steadfastly with me and the PNP leadership as we courageously faced the challenges of the service and ensured the safety of our communities. And I start the year with gratitude to all of you for your strong support to my stewardship of the PNP, and above all, to the Lord for His light and guidance and for the blessings of the past year.
We leave 2015 behind, humbled by the great challenges brought before us and proud of the gains we have achieved together as servants and protectors of the Filipino people.
It was a year marred with tragedy as we walked in grief over the fate of our fallen SAF 44 brothers in Mamasapano, and of our other brothers in uniform who lost their lives while in service to God, country and people. But it was also a year of achievements and victories as our gallant men and women refused defeat and marched on with heads high against crime and lawlessness.
We successfully secured Pope Francis, his entourage and all devotees during the five-day Pastoral Visit to the country in early 2015 as we mobilized more than 30,000 uniformed personnel across the Pope’s route in Manila and Tacloban. We replicated this feat in the same year as we effectively addressed the security, peace and order, and emergency preparedness requirements of 44 APEC meetings held in 9 sites including the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Manila, and ensuring compliance to the President’s “zero incident” directive. And we concluded the year successfully as we put in place the security operations for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City. These were achievements that brought to the fore the PNP’s powerful mix of intelligence, operations and police-community relations strategies which ultimately brought honor to the country in the eyes of the international community.
In 2015, we put in place Oplan Lambat-Sibat as a potent weapon against crime and lawlessness, drastically reducing crime incidents in Metro Manila and replicating this in other regions. We effectively addressed the challenge posed by the worsening traffic congestion in the metropolis as we deployed well-trained traffic police personnel in EDSA and other areas. We brought the war against illegal drugs to the barangay level sending a strong signal to drug lords and their cohorts that the police meant business. And we welcomed the establishment of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group as a national operational support unit, further empowering our fight against the illegal drug menace.
As we worked to improve the PNP’s regulatory functions, we decentralized fi****ms licensing and registration through the establishment of CSG regional offices, thus facilitating the entire process and easing the burden on licensed fi****ms holders. We strengthened our Public Safety Forces to give them more teeth in support to the AFP in suppressing insurgency and other threats to internal security. And in line with my declaration of meritocracy as the hallmark of my administration, we created an Assessment Center to facilitate the placement and promotion system in the PNP.
We did all these and more, even as we continued to train and educate our personnel to empower them better, and equip our police units to enhance and strengthen their move, shoot, communicate and investigate capabilities.
When I assumed command in July 2015, I did so with the intent to go back to the basics of policing with patrolling at the core of police operations. We deployed more police personnel in the streets, increasing police presence nationwide. This has made a positive difference in our police operations, keeping criminals at bay especially in crime prone areas, and helping Oplan Lambat-Sibat achieve impressive results during the year.
As we now march into 2016, we do so with our heads high, and ready more than ever to score more victories against crime and lawlessness. We march into 2016, as well, with greater concern for the needs of our men and women who risk life and limb daily as they enforce the law and protect our countrymen. But I must say that we can only effectively do this if we have a specific blueprint for 2016 that will serve to guide our direction through the year, and even beyond.
While we have our PNP PATROL Plan as our major roadmap towards 2030, let us define the specifics and visualize what 2016 will be like for the PNP. Towards this end, I expect to see short and medium term plans that will embody the organization’s programs for the coming months and years. When we say highly capable, effective and credible police service, how does it look like? How do we measure it? What are the metrics? I want to see what we hope to do to keep the PNP moving forward with results and success. I want to see what we have in store in terms of enhancing personnel morale, welfare and skills, as well as in strengthening our fighting forces in terms of equipment and facilities.
Let us put more flesh and substance into our programs and I hope to see well laid-out plans that will cover every possible aspect of police work in 2016 and beyond. In effect, with the short and medium term plans that will be crafted, we will also be planting the seeds for the future. I thus ask our Command Group, the Directorial Staff and all units to waste no time in completing this endeavor. Let this be our legacy to the next generation of personnel who will inherit this organization.
Inspired by our achievements, encouraged by continuing challenges, and armed with the lessons of the past year, let us now continue to rid our streets and communities of criminal elements as we step up the war against crime more viciously and decisively this time, and win the community over to the side of peace with more relevant and compassionate public safety services.
My fellow officers and personnel of the PNP, let us outdo ourselves in 2016, and once again prove to the nation that we are indeed never outfought. This early, we face the challenge of ensuring peace and order in the forthcoming May national and local elections. Once more, we reprise the role we played well in the 2010 and 2013 elections when we effectively secured the ballot and ensured the conduct of peaceful and orderly elections. Let me remind you that we, in the PNP, remain apolitical and must never allow ourselves to be used for anyone’s political ends. The challenge for us now is to surpass the achievements of the 2010 and 2013 election security operations and make 2016 even better.
Let us give more life to patrolling as we deploy more trained police personnel in the streets. Keep in mind that patrolling is not merely walking your beat. It is leaving a good impression to the public and making them feel that policemen and policewomen are not only their servants and protectors but also their friends and mentors. I want our police personnel to exercise the highest degree of discipline and tolerance when you are out in the streets without sacrificing your power and authority as law enforcers.
Let us always consider the fact that the responsibility to prevent crime and maintain peace and order is not ours alone. The members of the community are as much a part of this endeavor as all other agencies of government. It is thus imperative that we continue to build bridges of cooperation with all sectors and strengthen police-community partnerships in the campaign for peace. We have seen the positive results of the “whole of government approach” in earlier endeavors like the APEC meetings and Oplan Lambat-Sibat. Let us build on these, and stimulate stronger cooperation among all sectors as we give greater meaning to the words “crime prevention is everybody’s business.”
I want 2016 to be a year of unparalleled achievement and reform as we renew our commitment to service. And I assure you of the PNP leadership’s constant guidance and direction as we continue to pursue the PNP vision of a highly capable, effective and credible police service. We will work hard towards the provision of more equipment and facilities to police units to enable them to pursue their mandate more efficiently and effectively even as we continue to train our men and women into becoming the best fighting forces against crime that they can ever be.
Let us face 2016 as one strong and united force, willing to risk life and limb in the service of God, country and people.
As I have always been saying these past months, if there is one thing that I want every member of the PNP to always remember, it is to do even just one small good deed each day without fail. With 160,000 policemen and policewomen doing this, we will be achieving much for the PNP at the end of each day. And at year’s end, we will have achieved great results for our country.
With that, let me wish you all again a Happy, Prosperous and Peace
