South Korea provides $6.6m grant aid to Philippine police

July 12, 2017

The Korean government,. though the Korean International Cooperation Agency, signed on Wednesday a $6.6 million grant aid to the Philippines for "enhancing the criminal investigation capability of the Philippine National Police". The signing was led by the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to the Philippines Kim Jae-Shin and Undersecretary Catalino Cuy, officer-in-charge of the Department of Interior and Local Government. Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa attended. Kim said the Korean government will provide about $20 million annually from 2016 to 2020 for grant aid projects in the country mainly for agriculture, health and education. Kim said Korea will provide more than 250 patrol vehicles and motorcycles and investigation equipments for the police offices in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Angeles City and Davao City. "Additional 150 Filipino police officers can join in various capacity building programs in Korea. Many local training and workshops will be held to further improve the criminal investigation schemes of the police", he said. The grant aid includes providing investigation equipments and materials such as investigation vehicles and motor bikes and investigation kits to be distributed to Police Regional Office Cordillera, Police Regional Office 3, Police Regional Office 7, National Capitol Region Police Office, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and  Anti-Kidnapping Group. It also includes the visit of Korean experts to the Philippines to provide necessary services for the project and capacity building of the Philippine officials and personnel. Workshops for Philippine officials and personnel to share transfer practical knowledge and skills of the Philippine officials and personnel with regards to the project will be conducted. Cuy said: "I firmly believe that the equipment and training to be donated will be useful tools to upgrade and develop the police organization and personnel." An average of 1.5 million people visit the Philippines every year and Koreans are the number one foreign visitors of the Philippines for the last seven years. There are about 90,000 Korean national residing in the country, Kim said. "Because of such enhanced people-to-people exchange, incidents involving Koreans have also inevitably increased in the Philippines", Kim said. South Korea’s assistance to the PNP came after businessman Jee Ick Joo was kidnapped and said killed inside Camp Crame on October 18, 2016. Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo went to Seoul in late February  to convey the apology of President Rodrigo Duterte to the South Korean government. Panelo said the Korean government has accepted the apology. Three South Koreans who were on vacation were allegedly extorted money by policemen in December. Only one South Korean filed a case against the policemen. Dela Rosa said: "The memorandum of agreement is good because we will be receiving patrol cars, motorcycles and investigative equipment that will be distributed here in the PNP. That is a lot , it is worth millions of pesos so we accepted it" (Alanna Ambi/DMS)