PNP chief to meet with FBI director in Washington

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao will meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller in Washington, DC to discuss mutual interests concerning transnational organized crime and terrorism.

Lomibao and Mueller will discuss about training and intelligence exchange to foster a better cooperation between the PNP and FBI regarding transnational terrorist and criminal organizations.

"The PNP welcomes every opportunity to explore other areas of cooperation with the international law enforcement community in terms of information exchange, cross-training, capacity-building, and technical assistance," Lomibao said.

Lomibao’s visit to the FBI headquarters is on the invitation of the FBI Director as a gesture of goodwill following FBI Deputy Director John Pistole’s visit to Manila last March.

The FBI has also been including PNP personnel in its regular training sessions at the FBI National Academy and in its training programs in the Asia-Pacific.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said that international cooperation has resulted in significant accomplishments in Philippine law enforcement against domestic and transnational crime and terrorism.

"We have made headway with some technical capabilities made available to us over the years, but we still find the urgent need to keep up with technology and cope with the growing sophistication of organized crime and transnational terrorism," Pagdilao said. As we anticipate the passage of our own Anti-Terrorism Law very soon, our projection of increased operational activity requires the complementing technical capability and readiness to cope with the challenges ahead.

From Washington DC, Lomibao will fly to Kosovo to visit the 53 PNP personnel serving as members of the civilian police force for the United Nations peacekeeping mission. He will personally look into their situation as well as confirm our country’s commitment to international peacekeeping efforts.

The PNP chief will also attend a conference for Heads of National Central Bureaus of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in Lyon, France to follow up on the agreement forged during the last Interpol working group conference held in Manila.

The meeting will be presided by Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble. – Cecille Suerte Felipe