Major General Edgar Alan O. Okubo has made history as the first graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) to become the director of the elite PNP Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) and now the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Metro Manila. He remains focused on his new job to supervise all NCRPO efforts to bring peace and order in Metro Manila, go after rogues in uniform, and provide metropolitan residents the best service police can offer. He has launched two major programs in the NCRPO that are expected to help bring back the trust and confidence of the public to the Metro Manila police force: the Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay or R-PSB program and the Quality Service Lane or QSL program in all Metro Manila police districts, stations, and police-community precincts.
Maj. Gen. Okubo has ordered the removal of television sets hanging on the walls of lobbies of different NCRPO police stations and PCPs to ensure that police officers are able to concentrate on their job of helping the citizenry without being distracted. The TV sets that will be removed from the lobby of NCRPO stations and PCPs will be transferred to other parts of the area, which are off-limits to the public like the mess halls and investigation rooms. He has emphasized that there are rules to be followed when it comes to watching TV in stations and precincts. For one, only those who are on break and having their meal may watch TV.
The official has sent over 450 NCRPO policewomen who have undergone Community Relations training to different Metro Manila police stations and precincts where they were assigned as new desk sergeants-cum Community Relation Officers. The policewomen replaced the male desk officers who have been sent to patrol duties instead. The move is part of his effort to further improve the PNP Quality Service Lanes for the public in the metropolis. The policewomen have been equipped with the correct attitude, skills, and values as well as deeper knowledge on community relations as they embark on their new field of work. His plan will initially apply only in 45 NCRPO stations: 16 in QCPD, 14 in MPD, 7 in SPD, and 4 each in NPD and EPD.
Maj. Gen. Okubo also plans to have all NCRPO districts have their respective R-PSB Teams that will immerse themselves in so-called “crime-prone and depressed areas” to talk with the people and understand their real concerns. He supervised the highly-successful R-PSB program of the Police Regional Office 11 in Southern Mindanao when it was still under Brig. Gen., now Lieutenant Gen. Filmore B. Escobal, Area Police Command-Eastern Mindanao commander. He also launched the same program at the PNP Special Action Force last year, enabling the SAF to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of the people while going all-out against terrorists and other Enemies of the State. The R-PSB program has seen PRO11 and PNP-SAF troopers building roads, small bridges, artesian wells, water systems, schools, and even small churches while providing government service to the poorest of the poor, especially those living in so-called Geographically-Isolated and Disadvantageous Areas of the country.
Reference: Journal News Online
