New PNP chief to address peace and order concerns 'with care'

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin on Wednesday vowed to address peace and order concerns with compassion, as he took over the helm of the police force.

“I launched my peace and security framework entitled MKK=K, the abbreviations stand for Malaskit, Kaayusan Kapayapaan and Kaunlaran wherein the combination of care, order and peace shall equate to progress. As I take the helm of the PNP today, I want to employ the same aspiration to the entire organization. The malasakit program aspires to address the external and internal issues of the organization,” he said in his speech at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

The 55-year-old police general will lead the 227,000 strong force of police personnel who shall continue to ensure the unhampered delivery of the organization’s mandate for the safety and protection of the citizens.

Azurin said the MKK=K shall be supplemented by Kasimbayanan program which stands for Kapulisan, Simbahan at Pamayanan wherein regardless of religious affiliation, volunteer church leaders shall help the police nurture relations with the community, bridging the gap between the two.

He said he also seeks to organize the community as peace advocates to ensure that every citizen is law-abiding through the help of different church-based organizations.

The PNP personnel, he said, shall also receive counseling through the squad's weekly interactive meeting program or SWIM to become better servants and protectors of each community.

During SWIM, he said PNP personnel are accompanied by life coaches from the religious sector as they read the Bible verses and relate it to their work and personal experience.

He reminded the law enforcers of their fundamental jobs to prevent crime through operations, preempt crime through intelligence, solve crime through investigations, and organize and mobilize the community through PCR (police community precinct).

“Your PNP shall enhance the training of its personnel as part of their career advancement, development, and competency refresher. This is to ensure quality police assistance,” Azurin said.

He said he will continue to partner with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and various clusters of Executive Order No. 70 that created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to achieve a lasting peace throughout the country.

The PNP, he added, shall ensure that all barangay development programs shall reach its completion by providing security to its implementers.

Azurin said he would also continue the Internal Cleanliness Policy implemented by his predecessor.

“We began our internal cleansing program of preventive, punitive and restorative efforts. Subsequently, the dismissal, suspension and demotion of PNP personnel found guilty of administrative charges has declined over the years. However, to further cleanse our ranks of misfits and undesirables, we need to level up our counterintelligence," Azurin said.

Azurin is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao" Class of 1989.

He will serve as the 28th PNP Chief and the first under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He will serve until April 24, 2023 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.

He replaced officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr..

"To our most esteemed OIC, Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., bok I have much to thank and admire you for giving me the opportunity to continue the programs that you have initiated in the PNP which are highly relevant and consistent with the wisdom and the intent of the strategic direction set in the PNP Patrol Plan 2030 roadmap," Azurin said.

Meanwhile, Danao urged the police force to continue providing genuine services and support all the plans and programs of his successor.

“I hope you will continue to support General Azurin in the same way you have supported me,” Danao said. “I hope that my professionalism and devotion to duty as a police officer will serve to inspire all of you who will eventually inherit the mantle of leadership of the police force. This means a firm commitment to law enforcement and a strong resolve to serve the nation and our people,” he added. ( Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)