MANILA: Maj. Gen. Bernard Banac, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Plans director, has been appointed to a six-man International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) ad hoc committee that will review the recommendations passed during the 24th Asian Regional Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Interpol Board created the ad hoc committee, which will have the primary task to review and provide specific suggestions that will boost cross-border police cooperation, support and assistance in the prevention and combating international crimes.
This task also goes with Interpol’s objective to facilitate international police cooperation even where diplomatic relations are not present between certain countries.
The other members of the committee are Hao Zou of China, Bidari Vijayendra of India, Chingiz Kaiyrzhanov of Kazakhstan, Paul Hamlyn of New Zealand and Hamad Yousif Al Hammadi of the United Arab Emirates.
Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., the PNP chief, led the 10-man Philippine delegation to the Feb. 7 to 11 conference that tackled cybercrime, human trafficking, financial crime and the campaign against terrorism.
In a statement on Sunday, Azurin underscored how the PNP would benefit from the Interpol’s Global Communication System called I-24/7, which securely connects all the organization’s 195 member countries through its National Central Bureau (NCB).
It enables authorized users to share sensitive and urgent police information with their counterparts around the globe for the purpose of assisting in the prevention, detection, and investigation of crimes.
Extending real-time access to I-24/7 allows, for example, a frontline officer to verify in real-time whether a passport has been stolen, or a firearms specialist from an anti-crime unit to verify a ballistic profile.
Interpol’s global communication system can also be made available to non-police entities upon NCB authorization.
Meanwhile, operatives seized a total of PHP501 million worth of suspected shabu during operations from January to Feb. 9, which also led to the arrest of 7,811 suspects.
The operations were part of the continuing efforts of the "Buhay Ay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (BIDA) program of Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr.
“I commend our police officers for their hard work and dedication in these operations. The PNP recognizes that drug trafficking is a complex problem that requires a multi-faceted approach, including increased law enforcement presence, community engagement, and education efforts,” Azurin said in a separate statemen
Source: Philippines News Agency
