VZCZCXRO8393
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #0558/01 0720655
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130655Z MAR 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3497
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000558 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PGOV PINS PREL RP SNAR
SUBJECT: LOOKING BEYOND THE MODEL POLICE STATION PROGRAM 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The late January ceremony marking the 
successful completion of the Embassy's Model Police Station 
program received widespread media coverage and provided an 
opportunity for the Ambassador to publicly underscore the 
importance of respect for human rights by law enforcement 
personnel.  The two-year project involved substantial 
training and personnel development components, as well as 
equipment donation, policy development, and implementation of 
community-policing endeavors at 10 PNP stations in a variety 
of community settings across the country.  Some 169 courses 
provided training in 15 critical areas for 5,258 PNP 
officers, including 972 women.  Pending available funding, 
planning is underway both to repeat the initial project's 
curriculum at 17 new stations, as well as to pursue 12 new 
areas of training at existing Model Police Stations.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  By 2006, under the leadership of former Chief Avelino 
Razon, the Philippine National Police (PNP) began to 
implement its integrated transformation plan (ITP), a 
ten-year program of professionalization, policy development, 
infrastructure development, and capacity-building designed to 
meet international law enforcement standards.  The ITP was an 
outgrowth of assessments conducted by the United Nations 
Development Program in 2005 and studies by a USG interagency 
team in 2006.  Among the reform projects outlined in the ITP 
was the development of Model Police Stations that aimed "to 
integrate and showcase the PNP reforms and best practices in 
policing and police organization management within a defined 
locality under the jurisdiction of a municipal or city police 
office." 
 
¶3.  Once the desired best practices had been mastered at a 
model station, the PNP's intention was to utilize personnel 
from that station to assist in repeating those successes at 
neighboring police stations.  For the initial implementation 
of the project, the PNP identified ten pilot sites scattered 
throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao:  Baguio, Boracay, 
Kalibo, Lapu-Lapu City, Marawi, Marikina City, Puerto 
Princesa, Quezon City, Sorsogon, and Zamboanga.  These sites 
represent a diverse cross-section of Philippine society, 
including highly urbanized areas, rural regions, tourist 
destinations, and industrial areas.  The number of station 
personnel ranged from 65 to almost 3,000.  Recognizing that 
such diverse settings would require an individualized 
approach, a slightly different curriculum was developed at 
each station. 
 
More Just and Prosperous Society 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Assisted by New Zealand's Ambassador, Ambassador Kenney 
presented the chiefs of ten Model Police Stations with 
certificates of completion during a January 22 ceremony at 
Philippine National Police headquarters that marked the 
successful completion of the Embassy's Model Police Station 
program.  In her remarks, the Ambassador lauded Philippine 
efforts to upgrade its capabilities in order to address 
global challenges such as terrorism, trafficking in persons, 
as well as smuggling of narcotics and weapons.  She went on 
to underscore the contribution that a properly trained, 
professional police force can make toward creating a just, 
peaceful, and prosperous society.  In congratulating the 
assembled PNP personnel, the Ambassador highlighted the Model 
Police Station program as yet another example where 
U.S.-Philippine partnership helps support our shared 
democratic values and goals. 
 
Two-Tiered Approach, Plus Equipment Donations 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  With funding from the Department of State's Bureau of 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), in 
February 2007 Embassy Manila launched the Model Police 
Station project; the U.S. Department of Justice's 
International Criminal Investigative Assistance Training 
Program (ICITAP) was contracted to deliver the program. 
ICITAP conducted training and other developmental activities 
in 15 critical areas via a two-tiered framework.  Tier One 
initiatives included instructor development, community 
policing, basic crime scene investigation, police ethics, 
human rights, first line supervision, and civil disturbance 
management.  Following successful completion of training in 
these basic areas, more advanced Tier Two initiatives covered 
criminal investigations, crimes against women and children, 
trafficking in persons, internal investigations, 
counterterrorism for patrol officers, media relations, 
 
MANILA 00000558  002 OF 002 
 
 
mid-level management, and interviews and interrogations. 
Equipment donations totaled approximately $100,000, and for 
each Model Station included complete crime-scene processing 
kits, photographic equipment, plus computers, printers, LCD 
projectors, and related conference/classroom equipment. 
 
¶6.  During the project's two-year span, 169 training courses 
graduated 5,258 police officers (972, or 18 percent, of whom 
were women).  Overall, some 170,136 officer-hours of 
classroom training were delivered, at a total cost to the USG 
of approximately $1.4 million.  The personnel of the Model 
Police Stations exhibited tremendous initiative during this 
project and produced some remarkable outcomes.  Observable 
improvement has been achieved in all 15 critical areas, but 
that improvement has been particularly stark in the areas of 
instructor development, community policing, and crime scene 
investigation.  Our PNP colleagues have seized upon these 
training and development opportunities and now possess higher 
degrees of competence in areas of expertise that were 
previously severely lacking or completely nonexistent. 
 
Partnerships and Impacts 
------------------------ 
 
¶7.  Over the life of the Model Police Station project, 
Embassy Manila has actively sought to partner with others who 
could help further project goals.  Beginning in March 2008, 
the New Zealand Embassy has provided police instructors and 
advisers to assist with training and mentoring Model Police 
Station personnel.  They have participated at project 
stations in Baguio, Kalibo, Marawi, Zamboanga, and 
metropolitan Manila, contributing to approximately 13 percent 
of the project's total activities. 
¶8.  The Model Police Station program has already yielded 
tangible benefits in the communities where they are found. 
Each Model Police Station now has in place policies that 
mandate on-the-streets community policing activities, as well 
as strict procedures governing the handling of all crime 
scenes.  As an example of this success, the community 
policing outreach at the Lapu-Lapu Station (near Cebu, the 
nation's second-largest city) has virtually eliminated 
dangerous illegal mining operations, which had previously 
resulted in large numbers of explosives-related injuries and 
property damage.  Another outgrowth of the program has been 
the development of 45 fully-qualified PNP instructors who 
have in turn delivered more than 30 training courses at other 
PNP stations, at no further cost to the Embassy. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶9.  Embassy Manila is working with INL to identify funding 
available for continued engagement in model police station 
development.  With Tier One and Tier Two of the Model Police 
Station project complete at ten sites, Embassy Manila, PNP, 
and other partners have identified two additional avenues of 
training that would complement previous efforts.  PNP Chief 
Jesus Verzosa has directed police commanders of all 17 
regions to each nominate one station for designation as a 
Model Police Station, with the intention of undertaking the 
same course of development activities accomplished at the 
initial ten sites.  Secondly, additional development areas 
where USG-sponsored professionalization efforts would prove 
especially fruitful at the ten existing Model Stations 
comprise a proposed "Tier Three" of training and development 
in twelve additional areas. 
 
Additional Assistance to the PNP 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  While this first phase of U.S. Government assistance in 
support of PNP reform efforts has come to a close, much 
remains to be done to bring Philippine law enforcement 
capabilities more in line with international standards. 
Embassy Manila will continue to provide law enforcement 
assistance to help achieve this goal.  We are forging ahead 
with a multimillion dollar maritime police project based in 
Palawan province, where newly constructed facilities and 
patrol vessels are expected to be in service by July.  We 
also continue to be robustly engaged in police training and 
development projects in the Sulu Archipelago, ensuring that, 
as lasting peace finally comes to this conflict-affected 
region, police will stand ready to assume security functions 
that have heretofore been the responsibility of Philippine 
armed forces. 
KENNEY