Roxas: There will only be one national police force

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – There will only be one Philippine National Police (PNP) in the country, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Monday after Senator Panfilo Lacson raised concerns that Bangsamoro might have its own armed force.

“Under the Constitution, there is only one police force, the PNP,” Roxas told reporters after the Senate committee on Finance’s hearing on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) budget.

Lacson, a former director general of the PNP, raised concerns over the weekend about whether the proposed Bangsamoro will have its own police force and whether this will be part of the Philippines armed forces.

The government will sign on Monday the peace framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group. The agreement calls for the creation of the Bangsamoro region replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

As chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Lacson said that the Bangsamoro, under the framework agreement, will set up its own PNP.

He wanted to know if this will be under the National Police Commission. Lacson also pointed out that the President is the Commander in Chief of all armed forces in the country.

Roxas told reporters that everything in the framework agreement will go through the legislative process before being finalized through a plebiscite.

“Ultimately, it will be the people who will decide whether they want to be a part of this or not,” Roxas said.

He clarified that the Bangsamoro will not be a distinct separate state. Lacson said that its name, a combination of “Bansa” and “Moro”, means a nation of Muslims.

Roxas said that the DILG will be part of the consultations as the Bangsamoro goes through the legislative process.