All cops to get refresher courses on human rights

THE PHILIPPINE National Police’s human rights affairs office (HRAO) is intensifying efforts to give refresher courses on human rights to all lawmen amid President Duterte’s campaign against  illegal drugs and his declaration of a national emergency due to lawless violence.

Chief Supt. Dennis Siervo, HRAO head, told reporters on Friday that only about half or around 79,000 of the 160,000 policemen in the country had taken the refresher course since last year.

Siervo said the HRAO  this year trained nearly 1,400 policemen at its office at PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame and between 33,000 and 37,000 policemen in the regional offices. Last year, 500 to 700 cops were trained at the HRAO office and about 40,000 more in the regions. The number excludes the training of trainers.

Siervo said the human rights review course focuses on police operational procedures, particularly how to conduct arrests and enforce search warrants, how to implement checkpoints and how to hail traffic violators.

Also reviewed during the training are methods and circumstances for applying reasonable force to subdue suspects. Siervo said most of the complaints of human rights violations received by his office involved the manhandling of arrested suspects. TVJ

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