Enhancing cooperation with UAE in interest of Philippines

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The Philippines’ Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. is looking forward to programmes and collaborations with the UAE, taking cognizance of the weight peace and order secures for investments towards nation-building and prosperity.

The lawyer-turned-public servant since becoming a five-term mayor (1998 to 2004) of Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila as well as the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman during the Duterte Administration (2016 to 2022), is in the country with a high level delegation comprising of three Department of Interior and Local Government senior officials that also include MMDA chairperson Romando Artes, Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group director Brig. Gen. Sidney Hernia, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. and the Philippines’ Police Attache to the UAE Col. Roger Bilibli.

Abalos informed Gulf Today of the Philippines-United Arab Emirates peace-and-order collaborations on the sidelines of the twin inauguration of the May 12 to 13 “9th Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition” and the “1st Philippine Economic and Investment Summit” in Dubai on Friday.

Abalos discussed developments on the peace-and-order collaborations when this reporter enquired how safe and secure the Philippines has become, considering that foreign direct investors as well as overseas-based citizens shall only be enticed to invest in their respective countries once guaranteed of safety and security aside from infrastructure and logistics improvements.

He said: “I will give you figures, in July 2021 to May 2022 when people were scared to leave their homes because of the pandemic, the index crime volume was 34,758. You compare that for the same period of 2022 to 2023, this decreased to 4.2 per cent at 33,298 when activities resumed and without any lockdowns at all.

The murder suspects in the Degamo-Teves case were caught in record time. The suspect in the Percy Lapid killing surrendered within 48 hours. Crime solution efficiency is very fast right now. Of the 953 police generals and colonels we requested to submit courtesy resignations (relative to illegal drugs cleansing), four of them are already facing administrative charges and 32 others are being investigated. Crimes still happen which I believe are blown out-of-proportion.”

“There is about one police officer for every 700 to 800 people. We have the equipment. But just like any other discipline, we should be ready to know and adopt innovations, new trends. We must be willing to study more and implement good practice. I want to emulate what the UAE leadership is doing for making the country peaceful. The reason why the delegation is also here,” Abalos continued, adding that the group is here upon the “policy invitation” of Lt. Gen. Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Minister and Interior Minister whom he first met last February this year on the sidelines of the “World Government Summit” in Dubai.

According to Abalos, he was “surprised” as on Thursday evening and hours after he had met with Dubai Police commander-in-chief Lt. Gen. Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, an invitation was extended to him “for the training of some of our police at the Dubai Police Academy for cybercrime, anti-money laundering, illegal drugs. This is just the tip of the iceberg and I would work on this once I get back home so we could send our junior officers and our generals. I believe in institutional knowledge building.”

Keynoting the event, graced by Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso Ferdinand Ver, Philippine Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates Renato Duenas Jr., Emirates Travellers Festival chairman Awad Mohammed Sheikh Al Mujrin, and Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum Private Office senior adviser Yacoub Ali, Abalos presented updates for making the Southeast Asian nation the choice for foreign investments such as the Special Investors Resident Visa: “We are thrilled about the exceptional economic prospects that lie ahead of us. Our goal is to enhance the ease of doing business, governance, and processes at all levels, from grassroots to industries. This commitment will ensure a seamless and efficient business environment. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the people of the UAE for their unwavering belief in our country and for making us immensely proud to be Filipinos.”