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PNP chief backs program on tourist-oriented police

BANAUE, Ifugao – Newly installed Philippine National Police Director-General Jesus Verzosa was impressed here by policewomen wearing native tapis wrapped around native skirts and designated as "tourist cops."

Lauding the program, Verzosa ordered that it be replicated in other tourism-oriented areas in the Cordillera.

Chief Supt. Eugene G. Martin, regional police director, said tourists needing assistance in this world-heritage province feel secure and comfortable when they are assisted by policewomen wearing tapis.

Tapis is a native attire of Cordillera women which is donned on special occasions and during indigenous rituals.

Policewomen headed by Insp. Arlene Abastillas was organized during a festival in this town last April for crowd control and ensure safety and protect spectators and tourists.

Martin said the Cordillera Tourist-Oriented Police and the Community-Oriented Police were launched recently with the signing of an agreement between the PNP and the Department of Tourism.

Verzosa expressed his full support for the implementation of the TOP and COP programs, saying this could boost the tourism industry in the Cordillera.

Policewomen wearing native attires could serve as another tourist attraction, Martin said.

Local government units that signed the agreement on the TOP and COP programs were the towns of Sagada and Bontoc in Mountain Province, and Banaue in Ifugao.

These three areas are considered primary destinations of foreign and domestic tourists, particularly backpackers.

Under the agreement, the DOT will continue to provide training to police officers on how to guide and assist tourists.

Other government entities in Sagada, Bontoc, and Banaue are obligated to give them a course on local history and a briefing on tourist spots.

The tourist-oriented policewomen will also provide security and extend assistance to visitors at tourist areas.

Martin said Verzosa wants the program strengthened because it is one of the ways the police could regain the trust of the public in the law-enforcement organization.

The "Mamang Pulis" program, he said. greatly helped in improving the credibility of the police organization, chalking up an approval rating of 49 percent, the highest favorable rating of the police since 2001.

Sagada is known for the famous scenic caves, while Bontoc is noted for its Mainit hot springs.

Banaue and several other towns of Ifugao are known worldwide for the stairway-like rice terraces built by the Ifugaos over 2,000 years ago.

Tourism is one of the major industries in the Cordillera, which has scenic views and cool climate. – Dexter A See