NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Major General Edgar Alan O. Okubo on Monday officially sent off 466 Metro Manila police officers to their new duties as Customer Relations Officers (CROs) who will man their Quality Service Lanes (QSLs) in different NCRPO stations and precincts.

The 455 policewomen have finished a two-day seminar to equip them with the right mindset, attitudes, skills, abilities, morals, and in-depth knowledge about customer relations.

“They will be assigned in the QSL Desks in all NCRPO police stations to address the challenges as well as meet the demands and expectations of the public with regards to the delivery of basic police services,” said Okubo.

According to the official, the new NCRPO desk officers will provide the initial point of contact for all citizen’s or public concerns or problems requiring police services; proactively analyze such concerns/problems to assist in the resolution, or refer to the appropriate office for action; and ensure timely feedback.

He also encouraged the CROs to maximize their learning and provide the public with the best service they could offer.

“Gamitin ninyo ang inyong mga natutunan at ibigay sa taumbayan ang serbisyong nararapat para sa kanila dahil marami pa tayong programa at proyekto para sa kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan at pagpapanatili ng kaayusan at katahimikan sa Metro Manila,” he said.

Okubo likewise guaranteed that the NCRPO will intensify programs under their “Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay” or R-PSB concept so that the community can see, feel, appreciate, and feel our police officers through maximum deployment to areas where police assistance is most needed.

He also guaranteed that the regional office will undertake future innovations for real-time feedback towards the activities and response of police officers.

“Align with our intention to weed out rogue police officers among our ranks and to recognize those good police officers, we will come up with faster, more reliable, and more responsive system to get from the community both positive and negative feedbacks. We will generate more real-time feedback toward our vision of well-disciplined, accommodating, and well-mannered NCRPO police,” he said.

The member of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “Tagapagpatupad” Class of 1992, who made history after becoming the 1st PNPA graduate to head the elite PNP Special Action Force (SAF) and now the NCRPO, said he wants to further enhance the image and credibility of the metropolitan police force by assigning policewomen as “desk sergeant’s knowing the ordinary man’s feeling of comfort and ease when talking with a female officer.”

Last week, the official led the start of a two-day Customer Relation Officer’s seminar for the policewomen who will be deployed as part of Okubo’s program to further improve the Philippine National Police Quality Service Lanes for the public in the metropolis.

The seminar aimed to equip the NCRPO female non-commissioned police officers with the correct attitude, skills, and values as well as deeper knowledge of customer relations as they embark on their new field of work, said Col. Julius Guadamor, the chief of the NCRPO Regional Training and Education Division.

NCRPO Regional Community Affairs and Development Division, Col. Romy Palgue likewise said that the policewomen will have to really understand the proper way of communicating and interacting with the public as required of a typical CRO in the country.

“They have to have the knowledge and skills to deal with people who will go to police stations to file a complaint or request police assistance as they will be the new face of police desk sergeants in the NCRPO,” the official added.

Okubo’s plan has received positive feedback from different sectors of society. Senator Grace Poe welcomed the plan to create a dedicated space for women as front desk officers, saying it could be a potential solution to the underreporting and under-recording, especially of gender-based violence, since women are known to be more compassionate and more approachable, yet tough and determined.

“We know women to be more compassionate and more approachable, yet tough and determined. This should not stop the NCRPO, however, from continuously exerting efforts to make the male members of the police force more gender-sensitive,” Poe said.

The lawmaker, however, said having female cops as front desk officers is good, but at the end of the day, good cops “will bolster the faith of people in the justice system and close the gap between communities and the police.”

Okubo admitted that the change in assignments was an offshoot of the negative feedback received by the NCRPO on male front desk officers, as reported to him by the NCRPO Regional Intelligence Division (RID).

He said the men who will be relieved from their duties as front desk officers will reinforce police visibility, especially at night.

The official said that his plan will initially apply only to 45 NCRPO stations/police districts: 16 in QCPD, 14 in MPD, seven in SPD, and four each in NPD and EPD.

Upon their deployment, the policewomen will act as police customer service representatives in Metro Manila police stations tasked to deal with people from all walks of life and refer their problems to concerned units whose actions will be fully monitored by the NCRPO leadership.

Okubo said he wants the customer relation service-trained policewomen to act as their “go-to-guys” in police stations for a change.

He said he came up with the idea after fielding a number of undercover agents or “mystery clients” in different NCRPO stations shortly after he assumed the top Metro Manila police post vice Maj. Gen. Jonnel C. Estomo, now the PNP Deputy Chief for Operations.

The official said that the so-called “mystery clients” secretly filmed the actuation of male desk sergeants in the stations they visited, and many of their actions were “disappointing.”

One secret video showed a policeman smoking vape in public; another watching television unmindful of the presence of the “mystery client,” while another seemed to be not interested in the complaint of the undercover agent and, after a lengthy talk, merely referred her to the barangay.

Okubo said that by replacing male desk sergeants with customer service-training policewomen, they will be trying to replace the atmosphere in police stations.

“What I want here is to have a presence of policewomen who are always ready to help anybody seeking police assistance, acting as if they are mothers, sisters to the citizens,” he said.

Once they have talked to a particular complainant, the policewoman would refer him/her to the concerned police unit, say the theft and robbery section, the anti-carnapping unit, or the anti-fraud division, which should address their complaints immediately, the official said.