Young cop at the helm

At 26 years old, Senior Insp. Jul Mohammad Jamiri saw enough action in the field that convinced his superiors of his qualifications to be a police precinct chief, the youngest in Cebu City.

Raised a Muslim, Jamiri also sees his role as a bridge towards building trust between Cebu City’s Muslim community, which has kept a low profile, and the city’s dominant Catholic population.

Last Sept. 19,  Jamiri was detailed as the new precinct chief of Pardo police station in barangay Pardo, Cebu City.

Cebu City has 11 police stations in various barangays.

Jamiri said  his rise from the ranks was a result of   “doing (one’s ) job” and making it part of one’s life.

“Police work is not an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. duty. It’s 24 /7 (twenty four hours a day and seven days a week),” he said.

Jamiri ranked seventh in  Batch 2008 of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and received the rank of senior inspector at 25 years old last June 2011.

While waiting for the results of the PNPA entrance examinations, Jamiri studied Civil Engineering for one year at the Ateneo de Davao.

Jamiri finished a  masters degree in Public Administration in Southwestern University in Cebu City  last May 2011 and is currently pursuing a  doctorate degree  in the same school.

One of Jamiri’s batchmates is 26-year-old Senior Insp. Jun Paolo Abrazado, the   aide who survived the Aug. 18 plane crash that claimed the life of  Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots.

After  graduation in  2008, Jamiri was among  81 police officers sent to North and South Cotabato provinces in Mindanao.  They  pursued Abu Sayaff bandits and rescued a kidnapped foreign Red Cross volunteer in Jolo, Sulu.

He headed  Cebu City’s  police homicide section from December last year to September this year.

Under his watch, the   police  arrested a newly hired  maid who burned down her employer’s home in barangay Banilad last Feb. 23. The fire also killed a fellow maid.

The arsonist was arrested   in her hometown in Minglanilla, 12 hours after the crime.

As Pardo precinct chief, Jamiri has 41 police officers patroling six barangays.

“As a police station commander, I need to do multi-tasking. I need to be effective,” said Jamiri, a native of Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

His mother is a public school teacher while his father is a retired army colonel.  His elder sister  heads the Davao City Council secretariat while his elder brother is a deputy warden of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) at the Manila District Jail.

Jamiri said he  goes home to  Davao at least twice or thrice a year.

He said he spends his free time reading books, doing  house chores,  watching TV and biking around the city.

“I didn’t  expect to be assigned in Cebu City because I know that it’s very difficult since it is a highly-urbanized city,” said Jamiri.

As the lone ranking Muslim police official in the city, Jamiri said he doesn’t get any “special treatment”   and is  warmly accepted in his community  with no strain of discrimination.

Jamiri said he goes to the mosque in Mambaling, Cebu City every Friday t pray.

In case of reports about terrorist attacks, Jamiri said he can approach Cebu City’s  Muslim community confident that they can talk to him about their concerns.

His youth isn’t a hindrance to leading or motivating people, he said.

He also frowns on the use of  police brutality, saying this can alienate  police relations in a community.

As a young police chief, Jamiri said he can socialize more with the community through sports tournaments and special events.

“I want to prove that the negative image of the Philippine National Police (PNP) doesn’t exist, that  we  can be friends to the community. We need to earn and  keep their trust,” Jamiri said.