PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. on Monday led the nationwide relaunching of their “KASIMBAYANAN” program, which fully supports the full partnership between the police, the church, and the community in “keeping peace and order across the country”.

“We just relaunched today the KASIMBAYANAN, the same formidable synergy of police, church, and community, first launched in February 2022 that made possible, in May 2022, the most peaceful, most orderly, and most organized national and local polls ever in the history of Philippine elections,” the top cop said.

“From a triumvirate of hope, KASIMBAYANAN brings forth the bountiful blessings of peace, prosperity, and goodwill. The button pin worn over the police uniform not only symbolizes our support for KASIMBAYANAN. Rather by this symbol, we embrace KASIMBAYANAN as a way of life—of a beautiful life,” he added.

Azurin explained that KASIMBAYANAN or short for “Kapulisan, Simbahan at Pamayanan” reinforces the PNP’s “M+K+K=K” strategic security platform “Malasakit, Kaayusan at Kapayapaan tungo sa Kaunlaran” that supports the development goals of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on food security, energy sufficiency, industrial peace, education, public health, sustainable development, and inclusive growth.

He emphasized that the program is geared towards enhancing the PNP’s capability to curb lawlessness and criminality.

The PNP chief said that he wants his men to fully “partner” with the church and the community in keeping order in the streets particularly in strictly enforcing simple barangay ordinances like curfew hours and the prohibition on drinking in public which usually triggers quarrels among men or child and women abuse.

The country’s 28th PNP chief has ordered all PNP commanders to fully enforce all existing city, municipal, and barangay ordinances in their areas which were all designed to keep peace and help prevent trouble and criminality.

For one, he said that police must strictly enforce curfew hours for minors, the ban on drinking in public and playing karaoke or videoke machines past 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m., which are already ordinances long approved by different city, municipal, and barangay councils.

Strict implementation of curfew hours for minors with corresponding penalties for the parents and guardians of the violators will prevent the presence of fraternity or gang wars involving children in conflict with the law.

In some parts of Metro Manila, one main problem of authorities is the presence of CICL (Children in Conflict with the Law), who fight it out in the streets while armed with rocks, bottles, slingshots, and other improvised weapons, including homemade guns or “sumpak”.

Some have been killed or maimed, while many properties have been damaged as a result of these gang wars.

Strict enforcement of ordinances banning the drinking of liquor in public places, including “bangketas, eskinitas or tapat ng bahay,” according to Azurin, must also be the job of the territorial police force and barangay authorities.

He explained that in many cases, the presence of drunkards, and shirtless men in the streets trigger little trouble, which may erupt into much “bigger ones”, specifically when these ordinance violators begin fighting each other or show rude behavior to young girls or women passing near them.

Azurin also emphasized the need for the police to coordinate with barangay authorities in their effort to respond to calls to stop loud videoke or karaoke music way past 10 in the evening, the wailing sounds of the singers who are mostly engaged in drinking sessions becoming a nuisance to their neighbors who are already sleeping since they have to go to work or school the next morning or in many cases, couples with newborn babies.

The PNP chief called for the strict enforcement of these ordinances amid his directive to his men to continue their all-out campaign against all forms of criminality specifically drugs, and help the Marcos administration win back “the hearts and minds” of all “Enemies of the State” thru good governance.

He said that this could be done by deploying more uniformed personnel on the ground to carry out focused police operations to minimize incidents perpetrated with the use of firearms; the arrests of illegal drug users, peddlers and drug lords, members of private armed groups, criminal gang members; and recovery of carnapped vehicles and loose firearms.

According to the new top cop, he fully believes in the great dictum “public office is a public trust” and is seeing to it that the 226,000-strong police force under his command will hold public office with no less than the highest sense of honesty, accountability, integrity, and professionalism as a trust for the Filipino people at all times.