LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Ifugao Office pose anew recently the challenge to strengthen the role of members of the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) in the province as it stands side-by-side with the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) in advancing the board’s objectives.
The DILG-Ifugao Office and NAPOLCOM are set to conduct a two-day activity billed as “PLEB online data system (PODS) and PLEB Legal Skills Enhancement” at Diocitas Hotel in Santiago City, Isabela.
Hoping to motivate and inspire PLEB members throughout the country, Senator Richard Gordon appropriated Php 100 million to bankroll this all-important endeavor and other related concerns.
“The need for PLEB members to renew their commitment to develop a strong partnership among key sectors of the society in instilling disciplinary actions against erring members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is indeed a paramount concern,” NAPOLCOM Ifugao head Atty. Belen Tayaban said. “It is, therefore, imperative for each and every Filipino to be fully supportive of PLEB members in his or her locality,” she added.
Atty. Tayaban is one of the main speakers in the activity. She is from the capital town of Lagawe. Atty. Tayaban is one of the most sought-after lecturers and is an authority in the field on PLEB. The other speaker is Zane Mark Bongayon, also a lawyer, who is presently assigned in Kalinga province. He hails from Mayoyao, Ifugao.
Both resource speakers are ably supported and guided by NAPOLCOM regional director Editha Puddoc.
Other important figures in the mainstream of the regional PLEB office are notably included in the program for a variety of reasons, but primarily as lecturers. Araceli Pudin shall be on hand to show the essence of the practical applications of PODS. Assisting her is Allan Ocal. Both attained fame for emphasizing the access to easy and quick information on status of policemen with cases. In other words, there is no substitute for hands-on training.
Entities like the PLEB are helping, but the truth is there are still many Ifugao folks, and perhaps even increasing in number, that need to be educated and enlightened on the essence of the PLEB, as outlined by the provisions of Republic Act 6975, in a life of a Filipino. This should be a wake-up call for all of the citizenry who can do something to help, particularly in the area of the stamping out excesses of the men and women in uniform.
Participants are from the 11 towns of Ifugao. Each town’s PLEB is composed of a Sangguniang Bayan member (or a Councilor), Punong Barangay (village chieftain), woman representative, public central school principal, a law graduate and a designated PLEB secretariat from a plantilla position. In the absence of a law graduate, his or her position may be given instead to a college graduate endorsed by the Peace and Order Council (POC). Likewise, the POC has been tasked to select the woman representative, public central school principal and law or college graduate on the basis of the criteria hinged on their honesty, integrity and probity.
PLEB members are entitled to minimum honoraria of Php1,000 per session. They are also entitled to an insurance coverage during their term.
Strategies should be adopted to provide them with other significant benefits, alongside a few financial and strategic advantages they are currently availing of.
The best strategy is to nurture the PLEB members, to create an opportunity for them to make their presence in their communities. And because of their enormous role in society, they will be assured and confident enough that there will be full support from the government. In the same breath, it is no longer hard to enlist PLEB members- who are mere “volunteers,” in the not-so-distant future.
Ifugao PLEB’s difficulties cannot be effectively assuaged without intervention from the government, including among other things, providing additional incentives (such as 20% discount in transportation fare) and improving access to them through a PLEB desk at the municipal hall. Come to think of it, PLEB members don’t even carry an identification (ID) card identifying them as such!
The more perks extended to hardworking and dedicated PLEB members the better your results will be.
So the next time you are about to think of seeking a legal relief due to a major infraction of a policeman, pause and think about all the inquiry and communication that is about to take place in the said desk.
PLEB members are tasked to handle cases of grave offenses in nature. If found guilty, abusive cops are meted out stern penalties ranging from demotion, suspension and dismissal from service.
Even if local government units (LGUs), through the pushing of the DILG and NAPOLCOM, move heaven and earth in filling up positions for the PLEB in the municipal level, if said members are not knowledgeable or discerning of their duties and functions every peso infused in capacity-building programs as this one is clearly wasted.
This high-impact seminar has aligned the learning activities in parallel formation across a platform so that both participants and resource speakers work simultaneously towards the realization of the goals of PLEB.
For its part, the DILG-Ifugao Office assured that the participants are to be enlightened on the latest updates on developments related to operations of the PLEB in the province and elsewhere.
The commitment was made by Regina Elizabeth Mammag, the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the DILG-Ifugao Office.
The activity’s focal person handling the PLEB in Ifugao is Local Government Operations Officer V Florita Narciza.
PLEB members have tried, at each turn, to uphold and advance the rights of Filipinos against wayward policemen.
“Let us not lose sight of the grave implications of the misdeeds of policemen on the people, as the way we safeguard ourselves, may determine our future as a nation,” a PLEB member from a town in the province’s second district pointed out. In fact, it could very well define their spirit as Filipinos.
Past PLEB actions and decisions on complaints lodged on PNP members attest to the fact that it is the rightful body with the disciplinary authority to correct abuses committed by policemen. It is premised on the query of “Who shall look into the unlawful actions of law authorities?” In short, who shall police the police? Necessarily, therefore, any claim of an unworthy purpose of the PLEB’s creation and operation in Ifugao’s 11 towns does not make any sense at all. It is entirely bereft of truth.
Thus, PLEB members should be visible in their towns. Sadly, they don’t even have offices. Obviously, scarce resources are limiting their movements. They should be resilient and innovative. They should appeal for the provision of offices in their municipal halls. This is surely not too much in the asking considering the paramount importance of the PLEB these days in Philippine society.
Although the forthcoming seminar is a “big thing” for the PLEB members, they don’t have the time and luxury to gather and hold other strategic undertakings, as these individuals, apart from living in remote villages, also have other jobs to attend to. Some are lawyers who are too busy attending to their clients and principals who assist their teachers mold the minds of the young in cramped and dilapidated government-operated learning institutions. There are housewives who cook and wash clothes of their loved ones on the side.
The national government wants to help the PLEB. As per operational guidelines, per diems and insurance coverages of PLEB members from fifth and sixth municipalities are to be shouldered by the DILG. In this case, Asipulo and Hingyon PLEB members are entitled to these benefits. Both are fifth-class towns.
The DILG-Ifugao Office has earmarked nearly Php 500,000 for the conduct of this activity and a previous one last year at Wilmer’s Hotel, also in Santiago City.
For now, while the proponents of this activity are actively fine-tuning plans to develop better capabilities of PLEB members in this part of the region, the message to concerned parties of the PLEB is loud and clear: “Somebody’s watching you!” It is certainly in conformity to the concerns of the people.
Truth is, there are many who are fervently praying for the safety of these PLEB pillars in Ifugao and the other 80 provinces in the country.
If you’re thinking of a meaningful and lasting holiday gift for a PLEB member in your town this December, then you should say a prayer for him or her.
Your PLEB member, with his or her energy and skills directed to sustaining a commitment to make a big difference in the lives of the people, is undoubtedly working for your best interest. **By Anthony A. Araos
