Binay: PNP should be directly under Office of the President, not DILG

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ NIñO JESUS ORBETA

The Philippine National Police (PNP) should be removed from the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Thursday.

“Dapat nang alisin sa pangangasiwa ng Department of Interior and Local Government at ilagay sa direct control ng Office of the President ang Philippine National Police,” Binay said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

(PNP should be taken from the management of the DILG and should be placed under the direct control of the Office of the President.)

Binay said this is the solution to the continuous rise of crime in the country, which the PNP has failed to curb.

He urged the government to probe the killings of Lumad in Mindanao.

Last week, three Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur were murdered.

READ: Probe sought into ‘lumad’ killings | Militia in lumad killings a ‘monster created by military’

“Dahil abala ang kalihim ng DILG sa maraming trabaho, dapat lamang na alisin na sa kanya ang pagma-manage ng PNP para mas maging kapaki-pakinabang siya sa loob ng pamahalaan”, he said.

(Since the DILG secretary is occupied with a lot of work, the responsibility of managing the PNP should be taken from him so that he can be more productive in the government.)

He said the interior secretary should focus on addressing concerns of the local government.

The vice president slammed the purported failure of the DILG under Manuel “Mar” Roxas II in reducing the crime rate despite its P16-billion budget.

Roxas is the standard-bearer of the ruling Liberal Party in the 2016 presidential elections.

He will soon vacate his post as President Benigno Aquino III has announced Roxas’ replacement, Western Samar Rep. and LP stalwart Mel Sarmiento.

As of posting, only Binay and Roxas have expressed their presidential ambition in 2016. JE