DILG chief wants citizens’ law enforcement groups in barangays

Patty Pasion

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DILG chief wants citizens’ law enforcement groups in barangays
Interior Secretary Mike Sueno says he wants to prioritize curbing criminality by organizing barangay-level citizens' arrest groups

MANILA, Philippines – Newly installed Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno vowed to pay more attention to barangays, the smallest local government units in the country, and empower residents to help fight crimes.

“The past administration focused on provinces and municipalities that’s why the seal of governance did not go to the barangay level, but this time we would like to focus more on the barangay,” the former South Cotabato governor said in his speech during the welcome ceremony at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday, July 4.

Sueno said empowering barangays would help curb drugs and criminality, which is the primary goal of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Upon consultation with local officials in Mindanao, Sueno bared that they are eyeing the creation of a citizens’ law enforcement arm across barangays, much like the Alsa Masa (Masses Arise) in Davao del Sur.

Alsa Masa was a citizens’ group organized in 1984 to fight the New People’s Army (NPA). Its revival was eyed in Davao del Sur in 2014, but local officials were divided on the proposal. Duterte, the mayor of Davao City at the time, rejected it.

Sueno said, however, that the President has approved the establishment of citizens’ arrest groups who won’t be armed.

“Walang armas ito, like what [then] Mayor Duterte did in Davao na ang mga tao dun, they feel they are part of government. Hindi na sila mag-intay ng police, ‘di na sila mag-intay ng government action,” he explained.

(They won’t be armed, like what then Mayor Duterte did in Davao. The people there feel they are part of government. They don’t have to wait for the police, for government response.)

The DILG has yet to set the guidelines for citizens’ arrest groups.

Rural development

Sueno is also eyeing further rural development through better implementation of the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) program of the past administration.

 

A major reform of the Aquino government in terms of fiscal transparency, BUB institutionalized people’s participation in local planning and budgeting.

Although the program was lauded as one of the Best Practices in Fiscal Transparency by the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency last year, BUB still drew flak since proposals from local governments were amended in the national level. (READ: Bottom-up budgeting needs work)

“[Ang mga] tao sa barangay, they select the project, they implement the project, at kung puwede walang intervention sa taas,” Sueno said.

(People in the barangay should select the project, implement the project without intervention from the national government.)

The ruling Liberal Party (LP) was also accused of using the BUB program to bribe local officials to deliver votes for their candidates in the 2016 elections. (READ: UNA: LP using government funds for vote-buying

Aside from improvements in the BUB program, Sueno is also proposing small-scale public-private partnerships (PPP) in far-flung areas.

I will make arrangements with NEDA kung puwede naman PPP sa baba, kung puwede pagbigyan naman kami sa Mindanao, Visayas, saka Northern Luzon,” he said.

(I will make arrangements with NEDA. I’ll ask if PPPs can be implemented in Mindanao, the Visayas, and Northern Luzon.)

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had said that the Duterte administration would address bottlenecks in the PPP program. (READ: 5 failed, shelved PPP projects under Aquino admin– Rappler.com

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Patty Pasion

Patty leads the Rappler+ membership program. She used to be a Rappler multimedia reporter who covered politics, labor, and development issues of vulnerable sectors.