CORDILLERA customary laws are now being studied by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Brigadier General Israel Ephraim Dickson, Police Regional Office (PRO) Cordillera director, said the PNP is studying the effectiveness of council of elders of the Cordillera and the learnings will be applied to other police regional forces across the country.
"Noong nalaman kung gaano kadisiplina ang police force dito sa Cordillera at inaalam nila kung bakit nagagawa ng Cordillera iyong pagiging disiplinado, nalaman nga nila iyong magandang pagsunod ng mga mamamayan dito sa respective elders. Ganoon din iyong nagagawa ng ating mga kapulisan, iyong obedience, iyong respect sa kanilang mga superiors," Dickson said.
"Gagawin nilang modelo iyong ginagawa natin dito. Iyong mga problema na nangyayari sa mga tribes may mga elders na nag-aayos. Sa mga kapulisan din sa national leadership gusto nilang i-replicate, inaaral nila kung paano ginagawa sa Cordillera at gaano ka effective iyong ginagawa natin dito na gagayahin din sana ng PNP leadership para ma-implement sa lahat ng kapulisan sa Pilipinas,” he added.
The book "Ibaloy of Benguet," authored by Rosalyn Fianza White, explains the council of elders constitutes the kaama-an (elders), members of the kin group or community members believed to have intellectual discernment.
White, in her book, said the council adjudicates, in accordance with customary law, cases of conflicts on property and family relations, crimes and other complaints being sought for settlement before it.
Conflicts and disputes are settled and adjudicated in a tongtong (talk), the Ibaloy's justice system and amicable settlement and purification while ritual offerings are made rather than punishment remain an underlying principle.
To recall, following the murder of three men from Besao, Mountain Province who went fishing in a river near the village of Baclingayan, Tubo in Abra, the PRO brought together Provincial Peace and Order Council (BPOC) chairmen of Abra and Mountain Province, the Municipal Peace and Order Council of Tubo and Beso and leadership of the BPOC's and Council of elders of the affected barangays into a peace forum at Camp Bado Dangwa.
In the forum, issues of the contending barangays surfaces and resulted in commitments to work as one in ensuring that no further violence would occur.
Dickson admitted sustaining the title as most disciplined police entails challenge, adding he has directed unit leaders to engaged with their respective units and to visit the lowest units of their areas of jurisdiction and for squad leaders to be responsible to the attitudes of their units.
The regional director said they are also supported by religious groups providing values formation.
The Cordillera comprises six provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province with two cities of Baguio and Tabuk.
The region is home to numerous ethnic groups.