LAGAWE, IFUGAO– Those who believe that Filipinos are empowered enough to go after erring policemen as envisioned by the officialdom are the nation’s ever-hopeful advocates of social change.
These are individuals who are sick and tired of abuses and excesses of the men and women in uniform. Now, they are looking into stern measures to be taken by members of the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB).
Like any other catalyst for change, PLEB members and other stakeholders in Ifugao are looking forward to an orientation activity on November 9 and 10 at the Wilmer Resort Hotel and Restaurant in Santiago City in Isabela province, as a means of being more knowledgeable of pertinent laws such as Republic Act 6975, otherwise known as the Department of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, legal implications and repercussions of the violations committed by personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Two distinguished officials of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) are scheduled to give lectures on key concerns affecting the operations of the PLEB. They are lawyers Belen Tayaban and Zane Mark Bongayon, both from Ifugao.
Other salient matters are to be tackled by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Ifugao office personnel.
The PLEB is composed of five individuals. They are the municipal councilor, punong barangay, lawyer, representative of the women sector and a principal of the central elementary school. In the absence of a lawyer, any college graduate shall take his or her place.
The PLEB member is entitled to some remuneration and other benefits. His or her tenure is three years.
While the PLEB has been deemed as a vital body in disciplining wayward law enforcers by many and reports of misdeeds by policemen are mounting, curiously there is hardly a case filed against erring cops.
Scores of well-meaning and concerned Filipinos branded this development as “ridiculous.”
Most probably, the awareness level of the people is too low of the PLEB’s existence. In the first place, the PLEB was created to hear and adjudicate cases involving bad cops who in the first place are supposed to protect and serve the people.
Participants of the two-day, all-important activity are from the 11 towns of Ifugao. Nearly 90 participants are attending. With a limited delegation of each town, it is apparent that the PLEB members were carefully chosen. They were considered in lieu of their known probity and integrity.
Participants are likely to be enlightened by the insights shared by the lecturer on the roles and functions as a PLEB member. Other topics include decision and resolution writing, administrative rules of proceedings and PLEB rules of procedures.
A PLEB operation plan shall be prepared and incorporated in the Peace and Order Public Safety (POPS) Plan. As such, the outputs of the participants are crucial in ensuring maintenance of peace and tranquility in both rural and urban areas.
A long-established body, the PLEB program is merely spinning off after 27 years since its inception. Thus, adding another feather to the cap of President Duterte. It is rightly so, after Senator Richard Gordon, an ally of the Chief Executive, infused substantial funds for the PLEB orientation activities nationwide. Coursed through the DILG, per diem and insurance of PLEB members of fifth and sixth-class municipalities are to be taken cared. This is provided for under the draft operational guidelines of DILG. Bulk of the reported Php 100 million support fund outlay shall be allocated for the newly created PLEB Project Management Office (PMO), situated at the DILG Central office in Quezon City.
It is hard to imagine that the DILG-Ifugao office is about to make history, without the invaluable contributions of OIC Provincial Director Samson Appoy and Program Manager Regina Elizabeth Mammag. Nationally-trained PLEB coach LGOO V Florita Narciza, who attended a high-impact PLEB training program at Linden Suites in Ortigas Center in Pasig City, shall assist the main speakers in this orientation activity. Likewise, all other hard working men and women of the DILG-Ifugao provincial and municipal field officers are taking part in this first-ever PLEB activity. This would also show that the said office is one of the highly performing entities in this part of the country. Welcome news for the OIC DILG Secretary Catalino Cuy! **By Anthony A. Araos
