THE San Francisco Police District (SFPD) in California has put an end to its 16 year-long exchange training program with the Philippine National Police (PNP).
According to reports from California news station KPIX, retired SFPD Lieutenant Eric Quema said the turmoil in the Philippines affects the segments of the program.
The partnership training was cut off due to the alleged violation of human rights and the rising death toll in relation to the Philippine government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“It just gets worse and worse. Economically, because of this controversy, it’s affecting every segment of making us a better nation and a better people, so it’s disappointing to me,” Quema said.
However, he pointed out that he will not judge the Philippines’ war on drugs.
“This is someone else’s country, maybe you should live in there and see how it is. It doesn’t justify it or not, but maybe it will give you a better perspective on why they’re coming on so hard,” Quema said.
Records from PNP revealed that 1,645 drug suspects were killed from July to October 15 while 22,791 were arrested and 734,231 individuals surrendered to the authorities.
Quema then suggested to “try to get some diplomatic talking and communication going on because fighting back and forth just drags everybody down, breaks ties that have been historically there for years.”
In its website, the SFPD earlier said the Philippine Exchange Program was “dedicated to the exchange of law enforcement skills and knowledge, and to the fostering of camaraderie between officers in the Philippines and San Francisco.”
It also said that the exchange training is “regarded as the first formal training program established between a U.S. law enforcement agency and the PNP.”
Last year, the SFPD operated charity work in Philippine schools and helped with the training of Filipino cops.
The SFPD also donated equipment to the PNP.
