ASEAN police chiefs agree on crime data sharing

May 30, 2006, 8:00am

Leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) have forged an
agreement to further promote cooperation among the police forces in the Southeast Asian region to combat
criminality and terrorism by establishing the first international database system on lawless elements.

Director General Arturo C. Lomibao, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), led a 16-man PNP delegation to
the annual meeting of heads of national police agencies of ASEAN member-states in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over
the weekend.

During the conference, Malaysia sought the commitment of the ASEAN national police forces to closely monitor and
exchange information on newly emerging militant and radical groups, and take action to prevent them from growing
as terrorist groups.

The 26th ASEANAPOL conference was highlighted by the official launching of the Electronic ASEANAPOL Database
System (e-ADS). The eADS system is now ready to relay data to the 1-24/7 crime database system of the
International Police (Interpol).

Lomibao said he presented during the conference the country’s paper on current transnational crime concerns,
including efforts aimed at strengthening international cooperation with other police forces in the ASEAN against
transnational syndicates.

"The PNP is proud to take part in the efforts of the international law enforcement community in maintaining an
atmosphere of peace and stability in the Southeast Asian Region," Lomibao said.

Aside from the Philippines, other national police forces represented in the conference were the Royal Brunei Police
Force, Cambodian National Police Force, Myanmar Police Force, Singapore Police Force, Socialist Republic of
Vietnam Police, Royal Thai Police, and the host agency, the Royal Malaysia Police.

Present as observers were representatives from the the ASEAN Secretariat, ICPO-Interpol, Australian Federal
Police, National Police Agency of Japan, New Zealand Police, Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of
China, and the National Police Agency of the Republic of Korea.

In September, 2003, the PNP hosted the 23rd ASEANAPOL Conference in Manila. The Philippines is a founding
member of the ASEANAPOL which held its first conference in Manila in 1981. (Aris R. Ilagan)