PNP hopeful cops excluded from US travel ban

The Philippine National Police expressed confidence that its officers would be not barred from the United States which had imposed a travel ban on those involved in human rights violations, including the continued detention of Sen. Leila de Lima on drug charges.

Police Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa, the PNP officer in charge, said he believed the American government would not nominate Filipino policemen for schooling in the United States only to deny them entry.

“As of now, we have not seen such an instance but once they do that, we will deal [with the matter] accordingly,” Gamboa said in an interview.

At the same time, he again brushed aside allegations that the PNP was involved in cases of human rights violation.

Souring of relations

Gamboa made the statement in reaction to concerns raised over the possible souring of relations between the Philippines and the United States.

On Dec. 23, US President Donald Trump signed the 2020 national budget law which included a provision imposing travel sanctions against Filipino officials involved in the alleged unlawful detention of De Lima.

In retaliation, President Duterte on Friday ordered the Bureau of Immigration to deny entry to American Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy who had pushed for amendments in the US budget law that included the provision on De Lima.The PNP, through its training service, has been conducting foreign-assisted training by way of bilateral antiterrorism programs with countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.Allegations

Gamboa expressed belief that the US government would not nominate PNP officers who would eventually be denied entry as all candidates for schooling must first undergo a vetting process.

However, the PNP would abide by instructions from Malacañang on whether or not it would push through with training programs with the United States, he said.

Gamboa dismissed allegations about the involvement of policemen in human rights violations, particularly in the war on drugs.

“It’s [an accusation that has] always been [made against us] but we categorically say no, it’s not a violation. As a matter of fact, we have investigated all our operations to find out whether our policemen [deviated from our] police operational procedures,” he said.“But we stand [by] our declaration that we always follow operational procedure which is based on existing laws of the land,” he added.