Article XIII
Public Order and Security
Section 1. Law and Order.—The Regional Government shall give priority to the maintenance and preservation of law and order for the establishment of peace and the protection of life, liberty, and property of the people in the autonomous region, in consonance with the provisions of the Constitution and this Organic Act.
Sec. 2. Regional Security Force.—There is hereby created a Philippine National Police Regional Command for the autonomous region, hereafter called the Special Regional Security Force (SRSF) or Regional Police Force, in short.
Sec. 3. Law Governing Police Force.—The Regional Assembly shall enact laws to govern the Regional Police Force consistent with the pertinent provisions of the Constitution and this Organic Act.
The members of the Moro National Liberation Front who are integrated into the Regional Police Force may be deployed in the autonomous region or elsewhere in the Republic as may be determined by the proper police authorities.
Sec. 4. Regional Police Force Composition.—The PNP Regional Command for the autonomous region/SRSF shall be composed of the existing PNP units therein, the MNLF elements, and other residents of the area who may later on be recruited into the SRSF.
Sec. 5. Powers and Functions of Regional Police Force.—The Regional Police Force shall exercise within the autonomous region the following powers and functions:
(a) Enforce laws enacted by the Congress and by the Regional Assembly relative to the protection of lives and properties of the people;
(b) Maintain law and order and ensure public safety;
(c) Investigate and prevent crimes, arrest criminal offenders, bring criminal suspects to justice, and assist in their prosecution;
(d) Effect other arrests, searches, and seizures in accordance with the Constitution and pertinent laws;
(e) Detain persons for a period not exceeding what is prescribed by law, inform the person so detained of all his or her rights under the Constitution, and observe the human rights of all people in the autonomous region;
(f) Process applications for the licensing of firearms for approval by the proper official of the Philippine National Police;
(g) Initiate drives for the licensing or surrender of unlicensed firearms; confiscate unlicensed firearms after such drives after such drives are over; prosecute or recommend to the President the grant of amnesty or pardon to possessors of unlicensed firearms who surrender them; and
(h) Perform such other duties and exercise all other functions as may be provided by law enacted by Congress or by the Regional Assembly.
Sec. 6. Observance of Constitutional and Laws.—The Regional Police Force shall be charged with the preservation of peace, the maintenance of law and order, and the protection of life, liberty, and property in the autonomous region in consonance with the constitution and pertinent legislation.
The Regional Police Force shall be run professionally and free from partisan political control. The discharge of its functions shall be done impartially and with professional integrity. It shall be constrained by and accountable to the law.
Sec. 7. Regional Police Framework and Organization.—The philosophical framework and structural organization of the Regional Police Force shall be as follows:
(a) It shall be civilian in nature and character;
(b) The scope of its operations shall be regional. The Regional Police Force, its units or personnel may be deployed elsewhere in the Republic as directed by the National Police Commission or when needed to suppress lawless violence, pursue, and arrest criminal offenders or maintain law and order. In such circumstances, the order to deploy must be signed by the chairman of the National Police Commission and approved by the President. The President may also order the said deployment on his own authority;
(c) It shall be headed by a regional director who shall be assisted by two deputies, one for administration and one for operations. The regional director and the two deputies shall come from the ranks of the professional police force, preferably from any province, city, or municipality of the autonomous region;
(d) It shall have regional, provincial, and city or municipal offices;
(e) At the provincial level, there shall be a provincial office headed by a provincial director who shall be a professional police officer with the rank of police superintendent, at least; and
(f) At the city or municipal level, there shall be an office or station, which shall be headed by a Chief of Police who shall be a professional police officer with the rank of police superintendent for the city and police inspector for the municipality.
Sec. 8. Power of Regional Governor Over Regional Police Force.—The Regional Governor shall have the following powers over the Regional Police Force:
(a) To act as the deputy of the National Police Commission in the region and as the ex-officio chair of the Regional Police Commission;
(b) To exercise operational control and general supervision and disciplinary powers over the Regional Police Force;
(c) To employ or deploy the elements of and assign or reassign the Regional Police Force through the regional director. The Regional Director may not countermand the order of the Regional Governor unless it is in violation of the Constitution and the law;
(d) To recommend to the President the appointment of the regional director and his two deputies;
(e) To oversee the preparation and implementation of the Integrated Regional Public Safety Plan;
(f) To impose, after due notice and summary hearings of the citizen’s complaints, administrative penalties on personnel of the Regional Police Force except those who are appointed by the President; and
(g) Do everything necessary to promote widespread support by the various communities making up the autonomous region for the Regional Police Force.
Sec. 9. Regional Police Directors.—The selection, assignment, and appointment of the Provincial and City Directors of the Regional Police Force and the assignment of Moro National Liberation Front integrees shall be done pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975, the Philippine National Police Law and Republic Act No. 8551, the Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998.
Sec. 10. Regional Police Commission.—There is hereby created a regional police commission, which shall perform the functions of the National Police Commission in the autonomous region. The Regional Police Commission shall be under the administration and control of the National Police Commission. The chairman and the members, thereof, shall be appointed by the Regional Governor subject to confirmation by the Regional Assembly. The chairman shall be an ex-officio commissioner of the National Police Commission on matters dealing with the Regional Police Force.
The Regional Police Commission shall have the power to investigate complaints against the Regional Police Force. Appeals from its decisions may be lodged with the National Police Commission. Pending resolution of the appeal, its decisions may be executed. The rules and regulations governing the investigation of members of the Philippine National Police shall be followed by the Regional Police Commission in the absence of rules and regulations enacted by the Regional Assembly.
Sec. 11. Regional Defense and Security.—The defense and security of the autonomous region shall be the responsibility of the central government or national government. Towards this end, there is hereby created a Regional Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the autonomous region, which shall be organized, maintained, and utilized in accordance with national laws. The central government or national government shall have the authority to station and deploy in the autonomous region such elements of the Armed Forces as may be necessary to carry out that responsibility. Qualified inhabitants of the autonomous region shall be given preference for assignments in the said regional command.
Sec. 12. Calling Upon the Armed Forces.—The provisions of the preceding sections notwithstanding, the Regional Governor may request the President to call upon the Armed Forces of the Philippines:
(1) To prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion, when the public safety so requires, in the autonomous region in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution;
(2) To suppress the danger to or breach of peace in the autonomous region, when the Regional Police Force is not able to do so; or,
(3) To avert any imminent danger to public order and security in the area of autonomy.
The President may on his own accord send the Armed Forces of the Philippines into the autonomous region to attain the above objectives if the Regional Governor does not act within fifteen (15) days after the occurrence of the events mentioned above that need to be suppressed, prevented, or suppressed.
Sec. 13. Indigenous Structures.—The Regional Government shall recognize indigenous structures or systems which promote peace, law, and order.
This work is in the public domain because it is a work of the Philippine government (see Republic Act No. 8293 Sec. 176).
All official Philippine texts of a legislative, administrative, or judicial nature, or any official translation thereof, are ineligible for copyright.
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