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Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. with the SFPD officers and delegate members during the send-off reception.

San Francisco Police Department Conducts Its 7th Philippine Exchange Program In Manila

Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. hosted a send off reception for the officers of the San Francisco Police Department who will conduct their 7th exchange training program with the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Manila from 20 January to 5 February 2010.

The fourteen-member delegation, headed by Lieutenant Eric Quema, will join law enforcement officers from the Philippine National Police and other local training agencies like the National Police College and the Philippine National Police Academy for a two-week training and education exchange program to be conducted in different training venues around Metro Manila. This will include symposiums, seminars, and lectures on tactical skills, industrial security, transit security, crime scene investigation, terrorism awareness and other technical matters given by expert instructors from both countries.

During the reception, Consul General Marciano Paynor said, “the continued success of the police exchange program between the PNP and the SFPD is a visible proof of the strong bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and the United States in such key areas as counter-terrorism, defense security as well as law enforcement. It also works to further strengthen the professional ties, mutual learning opportunities, and promote friendship and camaraderie among peacekeepers from our two countries.”

Full-time San Francisco Police Department officers, most of whom are of Filipino ethnicity, conceptualized the program ten years ago to establish a continuing training program with counterparts from the Philippine National Police (PNP). Over the years the PNP has also sent delegations to San Francisco.

This year’s delegation is the biggest contingent ever to visit the Philippines, which include representatives of San Francisco’s multi-racial and multi-cultural communities. Adding a new dimension to the program, a number of BART transit police officers will be going to Manila and joining all aspects of the training program. Consul General Paynor noted that, “the continuing development in the Philippines requires improving the way we secure vital infrastructures, especially our transit systems and road ways. The participation of transit police officers and other field specialists will definitely create important learning experiences that will greatly benefit members of both law enforcement agencies,” he said.