Police and military in MM ink agreement, spelling out tasks of each other

By Ronron
August 28, 2007

The police and military in Metro Manila have agreed to delineate their activities in the capital for a better inter-operability, officials said.

In the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed Tuesday by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla and Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, the two parties agreed that the NCRCOM will take a lead role in the anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts of government, while the NCRPO will initiate in the anti-criminality drive and legal offensives.

“This (MOA) will define the working relationship between the NCRPO and the NCRCOM through delineation of tasking… In police and military parlance, we call it jointness of operation that will hopefully yield multiplier effects,” Dolorfino explained.

Dolorfino said that even if the NCRCOM will lead the surveillance and operations against terrorists and insurgents, or other matters involving internal security operations, it will be the police that will pursue the filing of cases, as in other operations.

Both units will also cooperate though in intelligence monitoring activities.

Dolorfino said there will be periodic assessment of the situation through monthly meetings between the two units./DMS