PEACE AND ORDER KEEPING FOR

SECURITY: BARANGAY LEVEL

DECEMBER 18, 2014 MCAPE95 LEAVE A COMMENT

Peace and Order Keeping for Security: Barangay Level

by: Maria Camille Anne P. Estonio
(BA Political Science)
Political Science 150: Philippine Local and National
Administration

Abstract
The focus of this study is about the peace keeping at the barangay level. In
this research, three barangays were chosen as the subject of the study.
Barangay Teachers Village East, UP village, and Pansol and their respective
peace and order committee along with the Barangay Peace and Security
Officer is studied. The approach used in this research is qualitative; data are
gathered by a semi-structured interview with the head of the peace and
order committee of each barangay. Thus the goal of this research is to
describe the processes and operations, and their capacity in relation to
manpower, materials and strategies used to administer as a peace keeping
body. Administration, governance, bureaucracy and decentralization are the
main concepts used in the study. A number of findings can be identified in
this research such as (1) the management of the maintenance of peace and
order in the barangays and its gaps (2) the frequent occurring crimes, and
(3) the major issues of peace and order committee.

Introduction
Various crimes happen in every society. Crimes can be considered petty such
as theft or it can be heinous such as kidnap and murder. Therefore in order to
minimize the occurrence of crimes, maintaining peace and order is essential.
This is where the role of the police and military comes in. These

organizations are the hands of the government in handling the maintenance

of overall peace and order in the country.
In the barangay level, the maintenance of peace and order is administered
by the peace and order committee headed by the Barangay Captain. This
study aims to describe how peace and order is maintained in the barangay.
In addition, this research will compare the processes and strategies and
describe the capacity of peace and order committee of the subject
barangays namely, Barangay Teachers Village East, UP Village, and Pansol.
Further this research will identify some of the major challenges that the
peace and order committee faces. Hence this study may give insights to
policy makers for the improvement on the administration of peace and order
in the barangays. The motivation for this study is out of the concern for
students I know who failed to avail dormitories in UP Diliman. So another
goal of this research is to provide useful information that will help UPD
students in the selection of boarding houses in the vicinity of the campus in
terms of security.

Literature Review
Security is one of the things that every individual expect in its immediate
community. Security is a feeling, according to Shehayeb (2008). She stated
that The importance of providing a sense of security among people in public
spaces cannot be underestimated. The author explained that the feeling of
insecurity can make people anti-social and cause stress-related outcome (p.
107). Hence, there is a need for the maintenance of peace and order in the
community to provide a secure feeling as well as safety for the residents.
At the barangay level the maintenance of peace and order provides security
to the residences. Thus in order to strengthen peace keeping in communities,
barangay peace and order committee is created in accordance to executive
order number 366 (1996). Different strategies, processes and operations are
used by the peace and order committee to attain its goals. One of these
operations is the Foot Patrol. As suggested in a study held in Philadelphia,
foot patrol may be considered a good way to decrease crime related
concerns if it is intelligence-lead. In other words, foot patrol effectiveness in

handling security will be more guarantied if the selection of target areas in

foot patrol is thoroughly studied. The findings show that there is a decrease
of violent crimes; however the decrease does not suggest that it completely
deter crimes (Ratcliffe 2011 p. 795-831). So, even though it is not the best
solution in preventing crime related violence, foot patrols can still decrease
crime. Therefore, this strategy is still helpful in managing peace and order.
Another major strategy of the subject barangays in this study is the
implementation of Close Circuit Television cameras or better known as
CCTV. All of the Barangays has already installed CCTV. In a previous study
held in Colchester Town Center analysed the effectiveness of CCTV. One of
the main findings suggests that it is effective but not in crime prevention.
My research on this topic concludes that CCTV is not successful in
preventing crimes from occurring. It does not affect the way people behave
and does not stop people from offending as the public simply do not think
about it and it does not cause any fear. It is however successful in detecting
crime and dealing with crimes when they are happening rather than
deterring them (Crawley p.33). Indeed instalment of CCTV cannot assure
that there will be a decrease in crimes. However CCTV certainly helps in
monitoring surroundings with greater efficiency since it is maintained 24/7.
So instalment of CCTV provides a big benefit in terms of peace keeping
management.
Concepts
The government provides security to the public and handles its
administration. Administration is the way men, materials or resources are
used efficiently in order to attain certain goals of an organization (White,
1997 p. 45). Thus in order to address the demands of efficient management,
organizations bureaucratized. According to Weber (1997) a bureaucratic
organization is hierarchical, meaning there is a top-down chain of commands.
There is a division of labour and specialization of workers. Also a bureaucracy
has formalized rules that should be followed by its members (p.37-38).
Traditionally, actors in administration only includes authorities, however
because of the importance of citizens participation when it comes to public
administration the concept of governance emerged, that is according to
Cario (1993) is the exercise of the authority and power together with the
management of resources with the help of the citizens (p. 69).

The global trend of shifting from a centralized authority to a decentralized

one is reflected in the Philippine Public Administration. Decentralization
according to Reforma (1993) has been a part of strategy of the Philippines to
catalyse development and democracy (p. 357). Decentralization, in reference
to Rendinelli and Cheema is defined as the transfer of planning, decision
making or administrative authority from the central government to its field
organizations, local governments and nongovernmental organization. as
mentioned by Atienza (2006,p. 416).
Following Carios words (1998) there are different forms of decentralization;
first is deconcentration that refers to the transfer of authority from the
central government to its field units. Another is devolution where in there is a
transfer of power to lower level of government units. In addition is
privatization or the handing of some responsibilities of the government to
business firms. Lastly is the involvement of nongovernmental organizations
and community organizations in administrative work that is usually done by
the government (p. 68). Now, to strengthen decentralization in the
Philippines, the Local Government Code of 1991 is passed which focused in
augmenting the autonomy of the Local Government Units. Various
responsibilities of the central government such as delivery of basic services
namely health, environmental and agricultural are transferred to LGUs.
(Atienza, 2006, p.427).
Capacity is another concern in this study because knowing the capabilities is
important for assessment especially for government organizations. Morgan
classified main characteristics of the concept of capacity. He explained that
capacity can be considered as the ability of a system or an organization to
perform with initiation and effectiveness (2006). So it is the way an
organizations handles itself in order to perform efficiently. He also added that
capacity is also the result of attitudes, resources, strategies and skills that
may be considered as intangible or tangible of people working together.
Methods
In order to gather data, the researcher conducted personal interviews to the
head of the peace and order committees of the subject barangays. A semistructured questionnaire was used in the interview and further questions

have been raised during interviews. Also, the whole interview was audio
recorded for the preservation of the interviewees answers. Documents were
requested and given to the researcher that includes barangay profile and
map. After the interview materials and equipment used by the peace and
order committee together with the Barangay Peace and Security Officer or
the tanod were presented to the researcher and has been photographed for
documentation.
Interview Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What are your main responsibilities as the head of the Peace and order
committee?
How do you manage or administer peace and security here in the
Barangay?
What are the frequently occurring crimes and what is its nature? Can
you identify crime hotspots? How do you address these crimes?
Numbers of Barangay Tanod? Did they undergo training?
What are the materials and equipment used by the Peace and order
committee?
What are the major issues of the Peace and order Committee?

Discussion and Analysis

The data gathered answered the objective of the study. Different operations,
strategies and process under the peace and order committee have been
identified. Also the capacity of the Barangay Peace and Security Officer is
described in terms of manpower and availability of equipment/materials.
The Barangay Peace and Order Committee is headed by Kagawad in the
case of Teachers Village East and UP village, while in Pansol it is headed by
an executive officer appointed by the Barangay Chairman. This is an
illustration of decentralization which is in the form of deconcentration since
authority and responsibilities of the Barangay Captain is passed or
transferred on to appointed head. Therefore one can imply that
decentralization is practiced in the lowest level of local government units.
Certain characteristics of bureaucracy are also observed in the organization
of the Peace and order Committee. There is a hierarchy and top down chain

of commands from the Barangay Chairman to the appointed head and finally
to the Barangay Tanods.

Subject Barangays (Population and Area)

Barangay

Hectares

No. of Population

Teachers Village
East

23.6147

3,445 (2010)

Pansol

48 hectares

57,000 (present
data from barangay
profile)

UP Village

34.0951

4,815(2010

*data accessed
fromhttp://web0.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/hsd/pressrelease/
National%20Capital%20Region.pdf
http://www.qcpubliclibrary.org/brgyprofile.php
CAPACITY
1.
ManpowerIn the three barangays, gaps have been identified in terms
of the number of tanods. One of the problems is the lack of budget to
support 20 tanods. UP village and Teachers Village in terms of budget is
more or less the same, having 6 million annually. In Pansol, the committee
head explained that their budget is sufficient to support the standard
number of regular tanod. However their problem is that 20 tanods is not
proportional to the population of Barangay. (Refer to table 1 p.8)
Therefore in terms of the lack of manpower of BPSO, what the Barangay
did was form partnerships with nongovernmental organization and hire
Volunteer tanods. In Teachers Village East and UP village, the cooperation
is with the Home owners association Guards for force multiplier meaning
to increase man power. Furthermore, Teachers Village East also partnered
with an organization of Tricycle drivers called TODA in the Barangay to
address the lack of tanod. Meanwhile in Pansol, what they did in order to
fill the gap between the population and the number of tanods is to hire

volunteer tanods. With this, we can imply that there is a partnership with
nongovernmental organization and community organization which is a
form of decentralization. Governance can also be considered in this
partnership since TODA which can be considered a part of the civil society
is involve in the management of the peace and order in the barangay

Barangay

Number of
Tanods (BPSO)

Working
Hours/Day

Did undergo
training?

Teachers
Village East

13 in
coordination
with
Homeowners
Association
Guards

15 days per
month, shift
is every other
day

Yes

24 hours (2
shifts)

Yes

12 hours (2
shifts)

Yes

20 (regular
Tanods)
40 (Volunteers)
Pansol

UP Village

15 in
coordination
with
Homeowners
Association
Guards

Barangay Peace and Security Officer Information Table 1

1.

Supply (Materials and Equipments)

CCTV panel Teachers Village East

Radio Communication Teachers Village East

Radio Communication Barangay Pansol

Motorcycle Teachers Village East

UP Village CCTV panel

Tricycle Patrol (TriPat)

Bikes Teachers Village

East

Barangay Pansol CCTV panel

Barangay Pansol Multicab for response

All barangays have basic equipment such as radio for communication,
vehicles (bike, tricycle, multicab) for response/patrol, flashlights, handcuffs,
taser, batuta and CCTV cameras. However, according to UP village there is
still a need for support from higher authorities. He added, UP village BPSOs
main issue is the lack of uniform because of the rejected request for budget
in the Commission on Audit. In Barangay Pansol, one of their main issues is
the need for street lights in some areas specifically in Kaingin 1 and 2. In
reference to the head of peace and order committee of Pansol, street light is
important in monitoring the happenings especially that Kaingin 1 and 2 is
densely populated.

2.STRATEGIES
Implementation of CCTV Project
Barangay

No. of CCTV camera

Teachers Village East

13

Pansol

16

UP Village

21

Number of CCTV camera Table 2

According to Teachers Village East peace and order committee head, CCTV is
a big help in monitoring the barangay especially open streets. Though, CCTV
may not directly prevent crimes it may be used for immediate response,
catching offenders, and may serve as evidence if the offender is caught.
CCTVs are placed inside the barangay hall usually inside the office above
the entrance door. In, Pansol CCTVs are installed in the BPSO headquarters
and is monitored 24/7.

Radio Communication
All the Barangay studied use Radio as a way of communication for cost
effectiveness. The head of the peace and order committee of the UP Village
discussed that Radio is ideal compared to other means of communication
such as Cellular Phones. He explained that if the BPSO will use Cellular
mobiles there will be a need for loading which required spending every time
the load is used up.

Patrol System
Barangay

Type of Patrol
( Foot/vehicle)

Schedule of Patrol

UP Teachers
Village East

Tricycle Patrol

Every 30 mins.

Pansol

Foot Patrol

Every 3 hours

UP Village

Bicycle Patrol

No specific time

Summary of Patrol System Table 3

This patrol system show one of the processes and strategies of the BPSO in
maintaining the peace and security in the barangay. Patrol system can either
be done by foot or with Vehicle. Police Visibility and quick response are the
main objectives of the BPSO in performing patrols. The three barangays in
accordance with the interview stated that the Patrol System is one of their
ways to address crimes.
3. FREQUENT CRIMES
1.
Teachers Village East
1.
Basag Kotse Gang (along maginhawa street)
2.
Snatchers (riding in tandem)
3.
Bike nappers
4.
Salisi Gang (Fastfood and Restaurants)
1.
UP Village
1.
Basag / Bukas Kotse Gang (along Maginhawa street)
2.
Snatching (riding in tandem) usually occurs at Mayaman and
Matiwasay Street
3.
Fight between neighbours
1.
Pansol
1.
Fight between Neighbours and Drunkards
2.
Snatching
3.
Modus Operandi for theft(schools)
4.
Drug related crimes
Conclusion
There are a number of findings that can be identified on the gathered data.
First, there is a delegation of the responsibilities of the Barangay Captain as
the head of the Barangay peace and order committee to the appointed
officer which is a form of decentralization. Bureaucracy can also be observed
in the peace and order committee for there is a chain of commands from top
to down. In terms of the processes and strategies, each subject barangay
implements Patrol System to address frequent crimes such as snatching by
riding in tandem that occur in the community. Also partnership of BPSO and
the Homeowners Association guards in Teachers Village East and UP village,

and the involvement of TODA are done for force multiplier. At the same time
the partnerships also exhibit the involvement of the private sectors and civil
society that implies the benefit of citizen involvement in peace keeping in
augmenting efficiency. Then, there is the implementation of CCTV for
efficient monitoring. The barangays also uses radio to strengthen
communication and to minimize cost. Lastly, the study shed light to the
various issues of peace and order committee of the barangay that is mainly;
the lack of budget for additional manpower, equipment and materials of
peace and order committee and the further support from other local
government authorities.
Works Cited
Atienza, M. (1996). Local Governments and Devolution in the Philippines,In
T. Tadem and N.Morada(Ed.),
Philippine Politics and Governance: an
Introduction(pp.). Quezon City, Philippines: Department of Political Science,
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines and
Commission on Higher Education.
Cario, L. (1993). The Concept of Governance. In V. Bautista
(Ed.), Introduction to Public Administration in the Philippines: a reader (pp.
66-76). Quezon City, Philippines: University of the Philippines Press and the
College of Public Administration, University of the Philippines.
Cario, L.(1998). Governance in Local Communities: Towards Development
and Democracy. In P. Tapales., J. Cuaresma., W. Cabo. (Ed.), Local
Government in the Philippines: a book of reading (pp.67-83). Quezon City,
Philippines: Center for local and Regional Governance and National College of
Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines.
Crawley, Jenni. Does CCTV work? An analysis of the Effectiveness of CCTV in
Colchester Town Center. (n.d.) December 12, 2014. Retrieved
from http://www.colchester.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7364
Executive Order No. 366, s. 1996. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.gov.ph/1996/09/05/executive-order-no-366-s-1996/.
Morgan, Peter (2006). The Concept of Capacity (draft version). Retrieved
from http://preval.org/files/2209.pdf

Reforma, M. (1993). Reforming Government: New Concepts and Practices in

Local Public Administration in the Philippines.InIntroduction to Public
Admnistration in the Philippines: a reader (pp. 355-356)
Ratcliffe, J. H., Taniguchi, T., Groff, E.R., & Wood, J. (2011). The Philadelphia
Foot Patrol Experiment: A randomized controlled trial of police patrol
effectiveness in violent crime hotspots. Criminology, 49(3), 795-831.
Retrieved
fromhttp://www.cla.temple.edu/cj/footpatrolproject/documents/PFPE_research
_brief.pdf
Shehayeb, Dina (2008). Public Safety In Interna tional Center for the
Prevention of Crime Report (p.107-112) Retrieved fromhttp://www.crimeprevention-intl.org/uploads/media/ICPC_report_4.pdf.
Weber,M. (1997) Bureaucracy Introduction to the study of public
administration. In J. Shafritz & A. Hyde (Eds.),Classics of public
administration (4th ed., pp. 37-43). Fort Worth, Texas, USA: Hartcourt Brace
College Publishers.
White, L. (1997). Introduction to the study of public administration. In J.
Shafritz & A. Hyde (Eds.),Classics of public administration (4th ed., pp. 4452).