Brig. Gen. Rudecindo Reales, director of Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), underscored the shared mission of the police and the media in serving the public, but urged the latter to always hold the Philippine National Police accountable.
“But partnership does not mean that you stop asking difficult questions. Quite the opposite. Ask us. Challenge us. Hold us accountable,” Reales said during his meet and greet with reporters at Camp Alfredo M. Montelibano Jr. in Bacolod City Wednesday night.
The PRO-NIR chief, who assumed the post on Sept. 7, said that “a strong police organization should never be afraid of legitimate questions.”
“We should welcome scrutiny when it helps us improve our service and strengthens the people’s trust. And from the police, I make this commitment. We will communicate. We will listen. We will be accessible,” Reales said.
He said the police and the media have “a very important role to play in that shared mission” for peace and order and in keeping communities safe.
Reales said the PRO-NIR’s partnership with the media “must go beyond press conferences, interviews and breaking news and must be a partnership built before the crisis happens.”
“We need your voice to educate our communities about crime prevention and public safety. We need your platforms to bring verified information to people when they need it most,” he said.
Reales said that when misinformation spreads faster than truth, the police also need the media to help them put facts before fear.
In his first official engagement as PRO-NIR chief on Sept. 8, Reales urged police personnel in Negros and Siquijor to return to the basics of policing, with greater emphasis on crime prevention through a visible and active police presence in communities.
PRO-NIR supervises the police offices of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Bacolod City.*PNA