Sen. Jinggoy, balik pelikula

The Philippines was cited yesterday as the top provider of police officers to the United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world.

Citing statistics from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the Philippine Mission to the United Nations said that the Philippines emerged last week as the main provider of police officers.

Currently, there are 288 individual officers from the Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed in seven UN peacekeeping missions.

“The Filipino police peacekeeper is doing our country proud by helping restore peace and rebuild lives in places as near as Timor Leste and as far as Sudan,” said Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr., permanent representative to the United Nations, in a report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.

Aside from the Philippines, countries in the list of the top 10 contributors of civilian police officers are the United States (284); Turkey (275); Germany (230); Cameroon (167); Niger (165); France (159); Ghana (144); Zimbabwe (121); and Burkina Faso (120). The figures cover individual police officers and do not include police officers belonging to so-called Formed Police Units.

“The Philippines climbed to the top position as a result of Manila’s positive response to calls of the UN for member-states to contribute personnel in view of the unprecedented surge in the demand for peacekeepers worldwide,” Davide said.

The mission also cited the PNPs cooperation in sending police officers for UN peacekeeping operations. – Pia Lee Brago, Bernice Estero, Renee Puno