Securing our military and police camps in Metro Manila

SOME experts believe there's danger in locating our military and police general headquarters in the nation's capital. Our two major camps are bisected by the busiest highway in the country — EDSA. Parts of these lands were donated by Doña Hemady and Don Paco Ortigas to the Commonwealth government in the mid-1930s. Quezon City was commencing its charter, and these camps were once vast tracts of idle grasslands with few occupants and more wildlife.

Camp Aguinaldo is the military's central command with a total land area of 220 hectares and was formerly known as Camp Murphy during the American colonial period. The military camp was named after the revolutionary leader of the first Republic in Asia — Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The Philippine Constabulary (PC) was first to occupy Camp Murphy in January 1935 and was succeeded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Philippine Constabulary was then a military law enforcement unit like the gendarmerie in France, pursuing rebels and bandits in the countryside. Civilian police were separated from the PC and organized by their respective city and municipal governments before World War II. Soon, the country would establish a separate professional police force that is national in scope and separate from the military.

SECURETATEM POPULI