INDEPENDENT IAS. Lawyer Alfegar Triambulo, IAS chief, says he supports the bill seeking its separation from the PNP on Wednesday (Oct. 15, 2019). House Bill 3065, filed by PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles, proposes that the IAS be removed from the supervision and control of the PNP chief, and transfer the agency under the direct supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. (Contributed photo)
MANILA -- The head of the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) on Wednesday welcomed the proposal of a lawmaker seeking to separate it from the Philippine National Police (PNP) chain-of-command.
"Actually, 'yun din ang ating nila-lobby. Kasi sa aming pag-aaral sa mga internal affairs sa ibang bansa, talagang independent sila. Ang maganda sa kanila 'yung kanilang recommendation ay pwede silang mag-alis ng hepe o chief PNP sa bansa kaya ganoon sila kalakas, 'yung kanilang independence (That is what also we are lobbying for. Based on our studies on the internal affairs of other countries, they are independent. What is also good with them is that their recommendation can remove a chief of even the chief PNP. They are that powerful, in terms of independence)," IAS Director General Alfegar Triambulo told reporters on Wednesday when sought for a comment.
Triambulo said the first step is to limit the mandate of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) as either a constitutional policy-making body or an administrator of the PNP.
Triambulo, however, said they still want to be attached with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), together with the Napolcom.
“Our proposal is that the Napolcom's mandate will be limited to being a policy-making body or administrator of the PNP and the IAS will now serve as the main agency that will conduct inspection on efficiency and effectivity of performance of the PNP, monitor the compliance on police procedures and freely investigate and impose sanctions on erring cops," Triambulo said.
He added that under the proposal, the IAS will also conduct an audit on the PNP's capabilities on counterterrorism, disaster, organized crime and insurgency.
Triambulo also said they also want to check on the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) because these two agencies do not have their own IAS.
“This is important because we have been hearing something from these two agencies and we need to also check on them because what is at stake is the public safety of the agencies,” he noted.
Most of IAS personnel are also policemen and as such, it is a case of policemen investigating their own.
He said that once IAS is separated, it will have its own set of civilian personnel to ensure the credibility of any investigation.
“This is what is ideal because based on our studies on IAS setup in other countries, their inspectorates are really civilians in order to really ensure that there will have no biases,” Triambulo said.
According to Triambulo, the current setup of the IAS being under the PNP also defeats the real intention of why IAS was created.
Triambulo said they could have initiated investigation against then PNP chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde amid the issues hounding him on drug recycling allegations.
But since IAS is under the Office of the Chief PNP, any intention to investigate the chief would appear to be futile since it is the sitting Chief PNP that would review and approve any of its recommendations.
Fiscal independence
PNP officer-in-charge, Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said one of the major obstacles in pursuing the separation of IAS is that there is a law that empowers the current setup.
“I know their sentiments because they have been asking for that for quite some time. They have been asking for fiscal independence and they were asking for real adjudicatory powers,” Gamboa said when sought for a comment.
The IAS chief said they are now lobbying before Congress their proposal to separate from the PNP in order for them to be an effective police watchdog.
Some of the reforms implemented in the past to ensure IAS independence include having a civilian as its head.
Under House Bill 3065, PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles proposes that the IAS be removed from the supervision and control of the PNP chief, and transfer the agency under the direct supervision of the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government.
Apart from investigating and adjudicating administrative wrongdoings of PNP personnel, the proposed measure also seeks to empower the IAS to have recommendatory powers in the selection and promotion of PNP personnel, including the PNP chief.
The IAS could also provide assistance to the Office of the Ombudsman and other PNP Disciplinary Offices in cases involving PNP personnel.
It can also recommend the admission to the witness protection program of the Department of Justice of witnesses who are vital to the prosecution of PNP personnel involved in criminal cases.
Nograles said an independent IAS is needed now more than ever due to the diminished integrity of the existing IAS amid allegations of a cover-up by top police officials on the wrongdoings of their subordinates.
He noted that under the current structure, the IAS -- which is an essential part of the disciplinary mechanism of the PNP -- reports directly to the PNP chief.
“It means that the IAS, based on their findings, can only recommend an action to the PNP chief. There is a flaw in the procedure because the IAS is only a recommendatory body, they have no prosecutorial powers,” Nograles said.
"As the office that oversees the conduct of the uniformed personnel, the IAS should be free from influence, pressure, and intervention from the chief PNP and other high-ranking PNP officers in adjudicating administrative cases," he said.
The lawmaker said if the IAS becomes independent, the recommendations of the agency will be given more importance.
"I also want to give them prosecutorial powers para sila na mismo ang totoong magpu-pulis sa mga pulis (so that the IAS itself will truly police the police),” Nograles said.
The lawmaker, who serves as chair of the Regional Advisory Council of Region 11 (Davao Region), pointed out that the IAS is dependent on the PNP for its budgetary requirements.
He said only in Camp Crame and Region 11 that the IAS has its own building and its personnel nationwide lack necessary equipment like computers and laptops, among others. (PNA)
