PNP chief in India meet to boost ties with foreign counterparts

PNP Chief, Police General Rodolfo S Azurin Jr. heads the 6-member delegation, having four PNP officials in composition, representing the Philippines in the 90th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL) in India. (Photo: Philippine National Police/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to strengthen its cooperation with the police agencies of other countries in fighting crime and maintaining peace and order.

This as PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin together with five other police and government officials have joined the 90th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in India, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally opened the assembly in a ceremony on Tuesday in New Delhi.

The event’s agenda include discussions on the future of policing; policing initiatives on financial crime, anti-corruption, cybercrime, crimes against children, and DNA database of missing persons; Interpol Global Crime Trends Report; and Executive Committee Elections.

Azurin said the Philippine delegation will present a country paper in one of the workshop committee meetings highlighting the recent developments in the PNP campaign against illegal drugs, cybercrime, intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, transnational crime, and Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).

In attendance are senior law enforcement officials from 160 Interpol member countries including the Philippines represented by the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) as the National Central Bureau (NCB) of Interpol in the country.

Other members of the Philippine delegation are Undersecretary Alfred Corpus, executive director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC); Third Secretary and Vice Consul Mark Articulo of the Philippine Embassy in India; Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda, PNP Director for Intelligence; Maj. Gen. Eliseo Cruz, PNP Director for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM); and Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, Acting Director for Plans.

“As the world’s largest policing organization, it is the job of Interpol to make sure that all countries are supported. Partnership and information sharing helps us to better tackle and prevent crimes,” Interpol president Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi said in his speech.

He added that Interpol’s databases are the foundation that “supports our work, and every country’s contribution is vital.”