Razon off to France on Tuesday for Interpol meet

MANILA, Philippines - National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr will fly to France on Tuesday to attend the annual conference of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). On Monday, Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesman, told reporters at Camp Crame that Razon is expected to "present a status report on the actions taken by the Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB)–Manila to the recommendations and proposals adopted during the 3rd Annual Heads of the NCB Conference held last year." "These include, among others, development of a database for internet-facilitated crimes against children, and service standard compliance of NCB-Manila to recommendations of the Interpol Best Practices Team," Bartolome said. According to Bartolome, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is the designated Interpol NCB-Manila, with a Secretariat Office headed by Undersecretary Rolando Garcia, executive director for the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime. Joining Razon at this year's 4th Annual Heads of NCB Conference are Director Romeo Ricardo, PNP director for plans; Chief Superintendent Rolando Añonuevo, director of the PNP Intelligence Group; and Senior Superintendent Orlando Mabutas, from the PNP Directorate for Intelligence, said Bartolome. They will back in the country on April 5. In a statement, Razon said: "It is an honor for the PNP to be represented in this international conference among heads of national police organizations who are committed to a common goal against transnational crime and terrorism." Bartolome disclosed that the event will be attended by delegates from 186 Interpol-member countries. One of the main agenda in the conference, he said, is the "development of operational capabilities of the NCB through expanded access to Interpol services, primarily the I-24/7 database network." "This international conference among police forces will allow the PNP and the Interpol NCB-Manila the opportunity to discuss police cooperation priorities both for Interpol and other police forces in the region," Razon said. The PNP chief had just attended early this month the 20th Interpol Asian Regional Conference in Hongkong, wherein, Bartolome said, issues on transnational crime involving trafficking in illegal drugs, commercial fraud, bank and internet fraud, currency counterfeiting, human trafficking, intellectual property crimes, transnational terrorism, and international fugitives were discussed. - GMANews.TV