MANILA – In line with efforts to improve its ties with the community, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday announced that it has formalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), a non-profit organization based in Germany.

PNP chief Gen Camilo Cascolan said the MOU aims to strengthen police commitment to “promote advocacy for community-oriented and rights-based policing and development initiatives promoting the rule of law and human rights”.

This is aside from increasing knowledge and information exchange with and among the citizenry, he added.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation is a partner of the PNP in the implementation of the police force’s human rights program since 2008.

Cascolan said that since the PNP’s initial collaborative engagement with HSF, the police force has successfully worked with the organization in promoting the following:

-Promoting Gender Mainstreaming in the Police Force;

-Practical, Community-oriented, Case-based Training Methods for Police Officers;

-Regional Dialogue on Police Training to address Regional Concerns, and

-Community-based Dialogue Sessions on Human Rights Promotion and Protection.

The measure came as the police force recognized the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) call for “technical assistance” to the Philippines’s efforts to further strengthen its human rights and accountability mechanisms.

PNP spokesperson, Col. Ysmael Yu, said the proposed technical cooperation and capacity-building for the “promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines” offers more opportunities for the PNP to further promote the advocacy to protect and respect human rights in all aspects of police operations. (PNA)