The Philippine National Police (PNP) Human Rights Affairs Office (HRAO) successfully concluded two batches of human rights desk officers and trainers’ training for a total of 53 police officers from six administrative regions of Mindanao comprising Regions IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The activities were held from June 19-21 in Davao City and June 26-28 in Cagayan de Oro City. Senior police officers who previously completed the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF)-supported Human Rights Instructors’ Development Course were the ones who organized and facilitated these training activities for the next level of human rights desk officers and trainers based at the police provincial offices. Lecturers from the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) and the National Council for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) were also invited to speak on relevant human rights topics.

Police Chief Superintendent Jose Jorge E Corpuz, Deputy Regional Director for Administration, Police Regional Office IX, told the participants in his opening speech about the quality of police work he experienced during an earlier visit to the German police forces. He encouraged the police officers “to take the highest standard as their goal, and therefore to respect and honor Human Rights in their daily police service”.

The training approach combined theoretical knowledge with practical application through interactive discussions between the trainers and the participants, role plays and case studies which were specifically adapted to the issues that police officers most frequently have to deal with in their respective area of assignments. The discussions dealt with the issue of human rights violations (HRVs) and ways of avoiding the same.  It was emphasized that the current police operational procedures are not inconsistent with the ability to incorporate respect for human rights in the daily police service. One participant mentioned about the idea of building a good working relationship with the CHR instead of indifference because of the fear of being accused of HRVs by the CHR.

On the last day of the training, the participants developed a 3-month action plan on the promotion and protection of human rights in their respective locales. It aims to establish closer linkages with civil society, non-governmental and faith-based organizations, local media, and public and private agencies towards promoting human rights-based policing in various fora involving a wide range of audiences through awareness-building, sharing of insights and generating support for local human rights-based policing activities.

In addition to these outreach activities, the police officers especially human rights officers will be assigned to conduct follow-on training activities for their colleagues to maximize the regional impact of these training seminars.

The HSF provided technical and financial support for the conduct of this training program. Further training activities are scheduled for human rights desk officers/trainers coming from the National Capital Region (NCR), Southern Luzon and Bicol Region in the coming weeks.