Public Order And Safety

Article 11: Public Order And Safety

Section 1. Public Order and Safety

The Bangsamoro Government shall have primary responsibility over public order and safety within the Bangsamoro. There shall be cooperation and coordination between the Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government through the intergovernmental relations mechanism.

Section 2. Bangsamoro Police

There is hereby created a Bangsamoro Police which shall be organized, maintained, supervised, and utilized for the primary purpose of law enforcement and maintenance of peace and order in the Bangsamoro. It shall be part of the Philippine National Police.

The Bangsamoro Police shall be professional, civilian in character, regional in scope, effective and efficient in law enforcement, fair and impartial, free from partisan political control, and accountable under the law for its actions. It shall be responsible both to the Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government, and to the communities it serves.

Section 3. Powers and Functions of the Bangsamoro Police

The Bangsamoro Police shall exercise within the Bangsamoro the following powers and functions:

• a. Enforce laws enacted by the Congress and by the Bangsamoro Parliament relative to the protection of lives and properties
• b. Maintain law and order, public safety
• c. Investigate and prevent crimes, arrest criminal offenders, bring criminal suspects to justice, and assist in their prosecution
• d. Conduct searches and seizures in accordance with pertinent laws
• e. Detain persons for a period not exceeding what is prescribed by law, inform the person so detained of all his or her rights under the Constitution and the Basic Law, and observe the human rights of all people in the Bangsamoro
• f. Process and facilitate applications for the registration of firearms and the issuance of licenses and permits for approval by the proper official of the Philippine National Police
• g. Initiate drives for the registration or surrender of unregistered firearms confiscate unregistered firearms after such drives are over; prosecute or recommend to the President the grant of amnesty or pardon to possessors of unregistered firearms who surrender them
• h. Perform such other duties and exercise all other functions as may be provided by law enacted by Congress or by the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Section 4. Bangsamoro Police Organization

The structural organization of the Bangsamoro Police shall be as follows:

• a. It shall be headed by a Bangsamoro Police Director, who shall be assisted by at least two (2) deputies. They shall be professional police officers with the rank of, at least, Police Chief Superintendent. For a period of ten (10) years, immediately following the enactment of this Basic Law, the head of the Bangsamoro Police and his deputies may be selected from a list of Bangsamoro Police officers with a rank of Police Senior Superintendent.
• b. It shall have regional, provincial, and city or municipal offices
• c. The provincial office shall be headed by a provincial director, who shall be a professional police officer with the rank of, at least, police superintendent
• d. The city or municipal office or station shall be headed by a Chief of Police, who shall be a professional police officer with the rank of, at least, police superintendent for the city and police inspector for the municipality.

Section 5. Bangsamoro Police Board

This law creates a Bangsamoro Police Board, which shall perform the functions of the National Police Commission in the Bangsamoro. The board shall be part of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).

The NAPOLCOM shall ensure that the Bangsamoro Police Board performs its powers and functions within the bounds of its authority. It shall perform the following functions:

• a. To set the policing objectives and priorities in the Bangsamoro
• b. To monitor the performance of the Bangsamoro Police against policing objectives and priorities
• c. To monitor crime trends and patterns as well as performance in areas of human rights, crime reduction, and crime prevention, recruiting patterns and employment opportunities in the Bangsamoro
• d. To provide information and guidance to the Bangsamoro Government and the PNP on the annual budgetary requirement of the Bangsamoro Police
• e. To monitor police performance as against the budget allocation for the Bangsamoro Police
• f. To recommend the Bangsamoro Police Director and his Deputies, the Provincial Directors, and City and Municipal chiefs of the Bangsamoro Police.

The Bangsamoro Police Board shall have the power to investigate complaints against the Bangsamoro Police.

Appeals from its decision may be lodged with the National Police Commission. Pending resolution of the appeal, its decisions may be executed.

The rules and regulations governing the investigation of the members of the PNP shall be followed by the Bangsamoro Police Board in the absence of rules and regulations enacted by the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Section 6. Composition of the Board

The Board shall be composed of eleven (11) members. Six (6) members of the Board shall come from the Bangsamoro Parliament and five (5), from various sectors. All the six (6) members from the Parliament shall not hold any ministerial post. All the members thereof shall be appointed by the Chief Minister in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Bangsamoro Parliament for this purpose.

The Chairman of the Board shall be an ex-officio commissioner of the National Police Commission on matters dealing with the Bangsamoro Police.

Section 7. Terms of Office

The sectoral representatives to the board shall hold office for a period of three (3) years; provided that of those first appointed as sectoral representatives, two (2) will sit for three (3) years, another two (2) will sit for two (2) years, and the last will sit for one (1) year.

Appointment for any vacancy shall only be for the unexpired term of the predecessor. The members of Parliament who are likewise members of the Board shall hold office for the duration of their elective terms.

Section 8. Powers of the Chief Minister Over the Bangsamoro Police

The Chief Minister shall have the following powers over the Bangsamoro Police:

• a. To act as deputy of the National Police Commission in the Bangsamoro and as ex officio chair of the Bangsamoro Police Board
• b. To select the head of the Bangsamoro Police and his deputies
• c. To exercise operational control and supervision and disciplinary powers over the Bangsamoro Police;56
• d. To employ or deploy the elements of and assign or reassign the Bangsamoro Police through the Bangsamoro Police Director. The Bangsamoro Police Director shall not countermand the order of the Chief Minister unless it is in violation of the law
• e. To oversee the preparation and implementation of the Integrated Bangsamoro Public Safety Plan
• f. To impose, after due notice and summary hearings of the of the citizen’s complaints, administrative penalties on personnel of the Bangsamoro Police except those appointed by the President
• g. Do everything necessary to promote widespread support for the Bangsamoro Police by residents of the Bangsamoro.

Section 9. Manning Level

The average manning level of the Bangsamoro Police will have a police-to-population of 1 police officer for every 500 persons.

The actual strength by cities and municipalities shall depend on:

• the state of peace and order
• population density and actual demands

The minimum police to population ratio shall not be less than 1 police officer for every 1,000 persons.

Urban areas shall have a higher minimum police to population ratio as may be prescribed by regulations.

Section 10. Appointment of Officers and Members of the Bangsamoro Police

The appointment of the officers and members of the Bangsamoro Police shall be effected in the following manner:

• a. Police Officer I to Senior Police Officer IV

Appointed by the head of the Bangsamoro Police and attested by the Civil Service Commission. Personnel for the Bangsamoro Police shall also be appointed by its head.57

• b. Inspector to Superintendent

Appointed by the Chief of the Philippine National Police, as recommended by the head of the Bangsamoro Police and the Chief Minister, and attested by the Civil Service Commission; and

• c. Senior Superintendent and above

Appointed by the President upon recommendation of the chief of the Philippine National Police, with proper endorsement by the Chief Minister and the Civil Service Commission, and subject to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Section 11. Community Police

The Bangsamoro Police shall adopt community policing as an essential mechanism in maintaining peace and order.

Section 12. Law Governing the Bangsamoro Police

The Bangsamoro Parliament is hereby authorized to enact laws to govern the Bangsamoro Police consistent with this Basic Law.

Section 13. Transitional Arrangements

Upon the establishment of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and pending the organization of the Bangsamoro Police, the BTA shall have substantial participation in choosing the head and in the employment and the deployment of existing Philippine National Police in the Bangsamoro. The head of the Bangsamoro Police will be selected from a list of three (3) eligible officers recommended by the Philippine National Police.

Section 14. National Support Services. - The relationship between the Bangsamoro Police and the national support services of the Philippine National Police shall be determined by the intergovernmental relations body.

Section 15. Defense and Security.- The defense and security of the Bangsamoro shall be the responsibility of the Central Government. The Central Government may create a Bangsamoro Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the Bangsamoro, which shall be organized, maintained, and utilized in accordance with national laws.58

Qualified inhabitants of the Bangsamoro shall be given preference for assignments in the said Bangsamoro Command.

Section 16. Calling Upon the Armed Forces. - The provisions of the preceding sections notwithstanding, the Chief Minister may request the President to call on the Armed Forces of the Philippines:

a. To prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion, when the public safety so requires, in the Bangsamoro; b. To suppress the danger to or breach of peace in the Bangsamoro, when the Bangsamoro Police is not able to do so; or c. To avert any imminent danger to public order and security in the area of the Bangsamoro.

Section 17. Coordination

The Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government shall establish coordination protocols, which shall govern the movement of Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Bangsamoro.

Section 18. Indigenous Structure. - The Bangsamoro Government shall recognize indigenous structures or systems which promote peace, and law and order. The Bangsamoro Parliament shall provide institutional support to these structures and systems to enhance peace and security in the Bangsamoro.