PERFORMANCE OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP) IN CAMARINES NORTE PROVINCE

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ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 10(01), 1009-1022 1010 In the article of Mateo published in Philippine Star on January 17, 2017, the PNP obtained a very good +55 net trust rating on the March 2014 survey. It surpassed the previous record of +52 obtained in the survey on trust rating of Filipinos to PNP during the survey made in February 2010. It can be interpreted that the Filipinos approved the PNP's job on peace keeping and crime prevention in the Philippines.
Along the above cited news, the Bicol Standards also reported online on October 10, 2017, that there was a decrease in the crime volume in the Bicol Region. The decline is equivalent to 11.94% or 3,452 from 28,900 to 25,448 which covered nine months from January to September 2016 and compared to the succeeding year, January to September 2017. It can also be attributed to the campaign of the Police Regional Office (PRO-5) against criminality. The said campaign was properly coordinated by the LGU and supported by the community. This paper is in consonance to the section 5, article 4 of the PNP Reform and Reorganizational Act of 1998, otherwise known as the RA 8551.The act mandates to conduct an annual self-report survey and evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of all police units in the country. Hence, a community survey on PNP performance in Bicol Region was initiated to measure the effectiveness of the programs and the delivery of services. This study forms part of the community survey on PNP ROV services. Specifically, this paper focuses on the survey of PNP performance in the province of Camarines Norte. It aims to provide community's reliable responses and feedback to ensure effective, efficient, and sustainable PNP services towards the growth of the province leading to provincial and national development.

The Locale
The province of Camarines Norte is composed of 12 municipalities, 282 barangays and two congressional districts spread over a land area of 2,112.5 square kilometers (http://nap.psa.gov.ph/ru5/overview/camnorte/default.html) .It is classified as a 3rd class province divided into Tagalog and Bicol speaking areas. Accordingly, it serves as the gateway to the Bicol Region from the rest of Luzon. It is bounded by Quezon Province on the southwest and Camarines Sur on the south. Along its coastlines, the province faces Basiad Bay on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the north, and the San Miguel Bay on the east. Out of the 12 municipalities, only four were randomly selected where the respondents from different sectors came from. They are representatives of the four-quadrant based on the geographical location of the municipalities, namely, Mercedes, San Vicente, Capalonga and Labo. The first two municipalities belong to Bicol-speaking towns and the other two, belong to Tagalog-speaking municipalities.
The municipality of Mercedes lies along the eastern part of Camarines Norte, The Northern part faces the Pacific Ocean, while the Eastern part is bound by San Miguel Bay. Its neighboring towns are Daet and Basud, located west of the Municipality. The town is the largest fishing bowl in the Bicol region, so fishing plays a large role in the economic activity. Fish merchants from neighboring towns and provinces regularly visit to engage in the fish export business.
Similarly, the Municipality of San Vicente, is a 5th class municipality that belongs to the second district of Camarines Norte. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 10,396 people. It is 350 kilometers south of Manila and close to Daet, the capital of the province. The people in this community are mainly farmers, and the main products are coconuts, pineapples, and palay.
Moreover, Capalonga is a third-class municipality with a population of 32,215 people based on the 2015 census. It belongs to the first district and known for its patron, the miraculous Black Nazarene. It was historically isolated from other towns by mountains, forest, river, and sea and relatively remained undeveloped because of the inaccessibility through highways. It was only in 2003 when concrete road became available for easy public transportation such as bus and air-conditioned van.
Labo is a first-class municipality that belongs to the Tagalog speaking district. It is geographically located relatively at the center of the province of Camarines Norte with 101,082 population based on the 2015 census. It is approximately 335 kilometers south of Manila and 15 kilometers away from Daet. Based on the 2015 census, it has a population of 101,082 residents.

Objectives of the Study:-
This paper identified the community perceptions and feedbacks on the PNP performance in the delivery of programs and services, public trust, respect and public safety and security in Bicol, specifically in the province of Camarines 1011 Norte. The following are the objectives of the study: (1) determine the community approval ratings on the PNP performance; (2) find out the sectoral net approval ratings and feedbacks along the PNP programs, community trust, respect and public safety and security; and (3) determine the sectoral commitment of support to the PNP programs.

Research Design
This study utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods. It focuses on the ratings and feedbacks on the PNP programs highlighting community trust, respect, public safety, and commitment from the different sectors in the province of Camarines Norte. Personal interviews with the identified respondents were conducted by the enumerators assigned in the four municipalities of the province. The analysis of the comments and suggestions as feedbacks from the community was employed to strengthen the gathered data through the responses in the questionnaire.

Respondents
The total number of sample respondents is 200, composed of 103 males and 97 females. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used to determine the respondents per sector in the province. The number of respondents per sector are pre-assigned by the PNP and proportionate to the number of the total respondents in the region. Representative municipalities based on quadrant were selected randomly through draw lots. They are Mercedes, San Vicente, Capalonga and Labo. There are 50 respondents from each province distributed as 17 females and 33 males in Mercedes; 27 females and 23 males in San Vicente; 25 females and 25 males in Capalonga; and 28 females and 22 males in Labo. The 50 respondents represent 13 sectors such as academe, agriculture, business, elected government official, government employee, informal worker, judiciary, media, parent, private employee, religious sector, transportation, and youth.

Instrument
The main instrument used in the study is a survey-questionnaire with three parts. The first part deals on identifying the demographic profile of the respondents. The second part highlights seven items on the performance of the PNP against criminality, community trust, and community respect, PNP respect to the community, public safety, public security, and implementation of the programs against illegal drugs. The third part focuses on the community commitment to support the programs of the PNP against illegal drugs, terrorism, riding in tandem and illegal gambling. It was finalized on December 12, 2017, after series of revisions and conduct of dry run-on December 4-8, 2017. It was first drafted in consonance with the PNP requirements and existing survey questionnaire. After its presentation to the Regional Advisory Council of the PNP on October 30, 2017, suggestions and comments were integrated. It was then presented to the assigned enumerators and tabulators during the orientation and training for trainers on November 28, 2017.

Procedure of the Survey
The enumerators and tabulators from the Local Government Unit (LGU) were oriented to establish the procedures in the conduct of the survey. It includes the things to do and the things to avoid during the face-to-face interview with the respondents. The electronic copy of the tabulation table in Microsoft excel was provided to the tabulators. They were also briefed on the coding of entries to be utilized in the actual encoding of responses.
Prior to the conduct of the dry-run, written consent from the Local Chief Executives through the assistance of the Police Provincial Office was secured. The survey was conducted from December 21-28, 2018. The assigned tabulators in each municipality submitted the tabulated results on January 08, 2018.

Data Analysis
This study is descriptive in nature which employed statistical tools such as frequency count, mean and percentage. They are utilized in the analysis of the demographic profile of the respondents. The results in frequencies and percentages were transformed in graphical forms for a picturesque representation of the survey results. The combined percentages of the responses at agree and "very much agree" level is considered with approval/favorable ratings. The unfavorable ratings are the combined percentages of the responses at disagree and very much disagree.
The net approval rating of the community was identified by subtracting the unfavorable rating from the favorable response of the respondents on the identified seven variables. The commitment of support rating was based on the number of respondents with favorable response transmuted into percentage.

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The qualitative analysis of the respondents' comments, suggestions and feedbacks utilized coding scheme. The feedbacks were grouped into three, namely: positive, negative and neutral or undecided. They follow the themes of PNP programs against criminality, community trust and respect, campaign against illegal drugs, and partnership and involvement. The qualitative analyses were used as support to the findings of the study on the community rating of the PNP.

Community ratings on the performance of the PNP in Camarines Norte
The following discussion provides both table and graph format of the community ratings on the performance of the PNP in Camarines Norte. The data were taken from four representative municipalities per quadrant. There are 50 respondents from each municipality who comprise the 13 sectors from the community. Table 1 reflects that majority or 92.5% of the respondents in Camarines Norte showed favorable trust rating to the PNP. Indicators of trust focus on the PNP's initiatives in improving programs against criminality and community's confidence towards the PNP. On the other hand, still few or 0.5% of the respondents gave unfavorable trust ratings. Moreover, 7% of the respondents still chose to be undecided.  There are, however, few respondents or 2% from Labo area who gave negative feedback. The comments focused on their complaints like, May ibangpulisna parang binabalewala ang kanilangmgatrabaho (Other policemen do not commit much on their duties).

1.) The ratings of the respondents and their significant comments on a. Trust, b. Respect, c. Safety and Security, d. Commitment
Others commented on their participation such as, kakulangan ng partisipasyonsagawaingpanlipunan( Lack of participation in social activities).
This result indicates a net rating of 93% on trust. Comparing this result with the third quarter regional trust net ratings obtained by the PNP ROV of 62.5% (Ref: ROV Q3 2017 Result of PNP Community Engagement Survey), there is a remarkable increase in the ratings from Camarines Norte province. Figure 1 shows that the respondents gave higher ratings to the PNP's initiatives in improving programs on criminality than in community's confidence towards the PNP. It earned the highest ratings from San Vicente while the lowest rate is from Capalonga. On the other hand, the highest rating on community's confidence towards the PNP was obtained from Mercedes and San Vicente and the lowest rate came from Labo. The above data can be traced and linked to geographical location of the municipalities. San Vicente is proximity wise closer to the urban part of the province while Capalonga is the farthest, plus the difficulty in transportation. In the same manner, Mercedes and San Vicente are quite near to Daet and while Labo is only 16 kilometers away from Daet. It is the biggest municipality and majority of its land area are mountainous. Hence, the low rate of confidence from the respondents since there are still areas that are believed infested by the New People's Army.  Table 2 reflects that majority or 94% of the respondents in Camarines Norte showed favorable respect rating to the PNP. Indicators of respect centered on the community respect to PNP and PNP respect to community. On the other hand, still few or 1% of the respondents gave unfavorable trust ratings. Moreover, 5% of the respondents still chose to be undecided.
There are 31 or 15.5% who gave both positive and negative comments on respect, breakdown as 12 and 19 respectively. Most of the positive feedback came from San Vicente area. The positive comments include: Ang kapulisansaamingkomunidad ay may paggalang at respetosa lahat ng mamamayan (The policemen in our community are courteous and they respect every citizen); May paggalangsamgamamamayan, tahimik ang   Figure 2 shows that the respondents gave higher ratings to the community's respect to PNP compared to PNP respect to community.
It earned the highest ratings from San Vicente while the lowest rate is from Capalonga and Labo. On the other hand, the highest rating on PNP respect to the community was obtained from Mercedes and San Vicente while the lowest rate came from Labo. Similar to the results on trust and confidence, the municipalities that are urbanized got the highest rating and the lowest came from the municipalities that are far from the capital of the province.  Table 3 reflects that majority or 85.5% of the respondents in Camarines Norte showed favorable Safe and Security rating to the PNP. Safe and security indicators include the respondents' feeling of safety and better level of security in the area. It also covers the active campaign of the PNP against illegal drugs. On the other hand, still few or 2% of the respondents gave unfavorable trust ratings. Moreover, 12.5% of the respondents still chose to be undecided.
Although only 2% gave unfavorable ratings on safety and security, it is worth mentioning that 52 or 26% of the total respondents gave negative comments. They are mostly respondents from Capalonga and Labo and some from San Vicente.

Their actual statements include:
Magkaroon ng schedule sapagrorondaupangmaiwasan ang mgakaguluhansakalsada. (There should be schedule of patrol duty to avoid street troubles); Bihira lang nararating ng mgapulis ang baryo( Its very rare that policemen reaches our barangay); and Kulang ang traffic enforcer dahilmaski may traffic light pa may lumalabag pa rin ang mga motorcycle riders( Lack of traffic enforcer because despite of the traffic lights, there are still violations by motorcycle riders).
The respondents from Mercedes and San Vicente provided more positive comments. They believe that policemen still maintain peace and security in the community. They are evident in the following comments: Naipapatupad ng maayos ang kanilangmgaprogramalabansa illegal nadrogasakatunayanilannarin ang kanilang "natokhang"( Plan of actions against illegal drugs are being implemented, as such some have been caught through "tokhang") ; Mabilisnarumispondesaanumanguri ng krimen at pantay ang tratosa lahat ( Quick in their response to every crime with fair treatment to all) ; and 24/7 lagingandyan ( available 24/7 ). This result indicates a net rating of 84% on safety and security. Comparing this result with the third quarter regional respect net ratings obtained by the PNP ROV of 61.87% (Ref: ROV Q3 2017 Result of PNP Community Engagement Survey), there is a remarkable increase in the Safe and Security ratings from Camarines Norte province.

Net Rating on Safety and Security
1016 Figure 3 shows that the respondents gave higher ratings on the campaign of the PNP against illegal drugs than in better level of security and safety in the area.
It earned the highest ratings from San Vicente while the lowest rate is from Capalonga. On the other hand, the highest rating on better level of security in the area came from San Vicente and the lowest is from Labo. Moreover, the highest ratings on safety in the area were obtained from San Vicente while the lowest is from Labo. Based on the responses in the first two items on the PNP performance, the trust and respect. It is consistently the areas that are less urban that gave low rating. It can be deemed that the visibility of the police in those areas may have influenced the responses. Table 4 revealed that majority or 98% of the respondents in Camarines Norte assured commitment to support the programs and projects implemented by the PNP. These PNP programs are war against illegal drugs, terrorism, riding in tandem and illegal gambling. Few or 1% are unfavorable to commit their support to the PNP. The remaining 1% of the respondents chose to be undecided.

Positive Commitment Rating
While most of the respondents have assured commitment on their ratings, their comments, however, only focused on both negative and positive concerning their trust, respect, and safety and security to the PNP. They did not consider mentioning their commitment towards the PNP. As such, it can be considered that the comments given are on a one-side base as they complain yet do not compromise their part. There are 16 or 8% of the respondents who did not give any comments and are considered undecided, either in their feedback or in their commitment towards the PNP.
This result indicates a net rating of 98% on Commitment to support the PNP programs against illegal drugs, terrorism, riding in tandem and illegal gambling.   . 10(01), 1009-1022 1017 Figure 4 shows that the respondents gave higher commitment to support ratings on program against illegal drugs. Terrorism, riding in tandem and the illegal gambling are of equal ranking. Commitment to support the program against illegal drugs is hundred percent in all four municipalities. Program against terrorism is highest in Mercedes and San Vicente but lowest in Capalonga. Similarly, program against riding in tandem earned the highest commitment of support ratings from Mercedes and San Vicente but lowest in Capalonga. Moreover, the highest ratings of 100% to commitment of support on program against illegal gambling were obtained from all three municipalities except in Capalonga.
The low rate from the municipality of Capalonga can be linked to the idea that the area is quite far from the other municipalities. Its means of transportation is also another factor, plus the location where it is far from the national highway leading to the national capital region.
2).The ratings per sector on a. Trust, b. Respect, c. Safety and Security, d. Commitment Table 5 shows that the highest trust ratings of 100% come from academe, agricultural, business, judiciary, and parents' sectors. The lowest rating of 80% is from the government employees. 5% of the informal workers shows undecided responses

Net Rating per Sector on Trust
Net Rating 1018 Figure 5 shows the net rating per sector on trust to the PNP. The highest net ratings are from parents, judiciary, business, agricultural and academe sectors. The lowest net rating is from the government employees' sector. The results may be traced from the fact that the government employees are well informed and knowledgeable of the recent news pertaining to the police, as reported particularly in the media. On the other hand, the parents, judiciary, business, agricultural and academe sectors may not necessarily get affected of the news. Those sectors may have considered that they need to trust the PNP as their only means of protection in their daily lives.  Table 6 shows that the highest respect ratings of 100% come from academe, agricultural, business, government employee, judiciary, private employees, and religious sectors. The lowest rating of 88% is from the elected government officials, parents, and youth sectors. The youth sector has the large percentage of undecided responses.  1019 Figure 6 shows the net rating per sector on respect to the PNP. The highest net ratings are from religious, private employees, judiciary, government employees, business, agricultural and academe sectors. The lowest net rating is from the parents and elected government officials. The results are still somewhat consistent to the net rating per sector on trust. The government official sector provided the lowest rating. However, the parents sector also gave the lowest rating on respect. It may be related to the police issues on national television, where the parents, particularly the mothers are watching at home. Table 7 shows that the highest safety and security ratings of 100% come from the religious sector. The lowest rating of 72% is from the Private employee sector. Informal workers have the large percentage of undecided responses.  Figure 7 shows the net rating per sector on safety and security to the PNP. The highest net rating is from the religious sector. The lowest net rating is from the private employees sector. It may be related to the natural way of thinking of the religious sector that they adhere to truth, thus leave no chance doubt to the performance of the PNP. The private employees may have least trust on the PNP since they do not have direct contact to them.

Net Rating per Sector on Safety and Security
Net Rating Table 8 shows that the highest commitment ratings to support the PNP which is 100% come from academe, agricultural, business, government employee, informal workers, judiciary, parents, religious, transportation and youth sectors. The lowest rating of 82% is from the media sector. 9% of the media sector has undecided responses.  Figure 8 shows the net rating per sector on commitment to support the PNP programs. Most of the sectors gave 100% Net ratings except private employees, Media and Elected government officials. The lowest net rating is from the media sector. The low ratings from the media may be attributed to the fact that the said sector gives direct report from the community that concerns PNP issues which may be mostly negative. On the other hand, most of the other sectors gave 100% commitment to the PNP programs because they may consider that it is only the PNP whom they can ask for protection.

Net Rating per Sector on Commitment to Support PNP Programs
Net Rating

3.) Recommended related PNP program and services.
The respondents gave suggestion on the programs and services of the PNP. They were categorized into trust, respect, safety and security.
Most of the recommendations have emphasis on the implementation of curfew and mobile patrol in the community. They stated: Patuloyna mag mobil patrol saaming barangay at sakabayanan(Continue the mobile patrol in the barangay and in the town proper); Sana magkaroon ng curfew hours dahil gabi namarami pang gumagalanakabataan(Curfew hours may be implemented so that minors will be off the streets at night); and Magtalaga ng pulissalabas o malapitsapaaralanlalonasasekondarya (There should be assigned policemen in the areas near schools, particularly in secondary schools). Similarly, this statement hopes for additional police forces to conduct mobile patrol at night since most troubles happen around 12 midnight where minors are usually involved:Sana po ay dagdagan natin ang mgaoras ng pagrorondalalonasa gabi kasi po kadalasan may trobolmga alas 12 ng gabi at kadalasansangkot ang mgakabataan.
Furthermore, some have suggested to continue the program against illegal activities, such as gambling, drugs and even fishing. This is the actual statement: Lutasin ang problema ng illegal, tulad ng droga, sugal at fishing. In addition, it is recommended for the PNP to continuously conduct checkpoint to interrupt criminal minded individual and to prevent street crimes. Others have wished for more PNP forces like manpower and ammunition. Sana magkaroonsila ng pondo para makabili ng mas matataasnakalidad ng barilpanlabansamgakaaway ng pamahalaan.
There are also some respondents who suggested that members of the PNP should also give time and service to the church. They stated: Magkaroon ng oras para sapaglilingkodsaatingPoongDiyos. Sapagkat tanging Diyosmakakatulongsainyo para malutas ang mga illegal nakita. Sana makita ko man lang na may mgakapulisannanaglilingkodsasimbahan. (Provide time in serving God, because only Him can help in their program against illegal activities. I hope to see some policemen who are rendering service in church). Other suggestions are focused on the welfare of the youth which states that: Magsagawa ng mgaprograma para samgakabataannamakakahimoksakanila para makilahoksamgagawaingpangkaligtasan.(Design programs for the youth that may encourage them to participate in safety-related activities).
In general, the community is supportive of the PNP programs as they provide suggestions to improve the service. Some respondents also recognised the quality service of the PNP. They encourage them to continue doing their duties. Their statements includeMas lalo pa sananilanggalingan. (They should do better);Mas lalo pangpagbutihin ang kagalangan at kagalingan(They must work better to continue being courteous and being good).

Conclusions:-
It can be perceived that the community survey on the performance of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camarines Norte generates positive net rating and feedback from the respondents. The demographic profile of the respondents showed that most of the respondents are male and came from Mercedes. In terms of status, majority of the respondents are married where the highest percentage came from Labo. The average age bracket of the respondents fell under 41-50, hailed from San Vicente. It can be noted that most of the respondents are college graduates from San Vicente and Labo.
In terms of rating and comments along trust, respect, safety and security and commitment to support PNP, trust and respect both earned a net rating of 93%. The net ratings on commitment to support PNP had the highest where two municipalities, Mercedes and San Vicente had perfect rating. It is the safety and security that earned the lowest net rating.
The ratings per sector revealed that the government employees gave the lowest net rating while five sectors gave perfect net rating. They are parents, judiciary, business, agricultural and academe sector. It is close to the net ratings on respect where 7 sectors, provided perfect rating, while parents and elected government officials gave the lowest net rating. Regarding the safety and security, the religious sector gave perfect net rating while the private employees gave the lowest net rating. There are ten sectors who gave highest net rating; only two sectors, private employees and elected government officials did not reach perfect rating, while the media sector gave the lowest under the commitment of community to the PNP.