‘SanFo move to end training ties won’t affect PNP’

MANILA, Philippines - The decision of the San Francisco Police Department in the US to cut off training ties with the Philippine National Police will impact the country’s police capability buildup, PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said yesterday.

Dela Rosa noted the SFPD recently announced they will no longer train Filipino policemen amid suspicions on their involvement in the summary killings of suspected drug personalities and violations of human rights.

“Yes it will impact in the sense that we are losing the opportunity to train with them, but not really that much,” Dela Rosa said.

The SFPD said in a recent statement said they are ending their partnership training with the PNP because of concerns over allegations of civil rights and human rights violations in the Philippines.

More than 3,600 suspected drug dealers and addicts have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. The crackdown has drawn international concern over extrajudicial killings.

Critics are alarmed at the sheer number whose deaths have been attributed to vigilantes, and the President’s apparent support for the killings.

Half the number of those killed were classified as “deaths under investigation” (DUI) by the police, denying they had any involvement in the killings carried out by vigilantes.

Since 2000, the SFPD and the PNP have been into training exchanges, involving mostly anti-crime fighting activities and techniques.

With the SFPD’s withdrawal of training support, there were fears that the overall support and assistance the US has been providing to the PNP in fighting terrorism and other forms of transnational crimes will also be affected.

Good relations between the Philippines and US are walking a thin line, not only because of the US government’s concerns over human rights violations committed by the police, but also of the series of anti-US pronouncements made by  President Duterte himself.