QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 546)
RA 6975 (as amended by RA 8551) provides that the primary responsibility to suppress insurgency and other serious threats rests with the AFP. The PNP supports the AFP through information gathering and the performance of its ordinary police functions, except when the President calls on the PNP to support the AFP in combat operations.
EO No. 546 directs the PNP to undertake active support to the AFP in internal security operations for the suppression of insurgency and other serious threats, specifically including support in combat operations involving such suppression.
Under the RA 6975 framework referenced by EO 546, the PNP supports the AFP except in cases where the President shall call on the PNP to support the AFP in combat operations. Thus, PNP combat support is triggered by a Presidential call.
Section 2 states that deputization is subject to the concurrence of the appropriate Local Chief Executive through the Local Peace and Order Council.
Barangay tanods may be deputized as force multipliers to support implementation of the peace and order plan in the area.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is tasked to exert efforts in securing and institutionalizing funding support from Local Government Units.
They must ensure that sufficient funds are appropriated in their annual budget for the operational and logistical support of the concerned PNP units for implementing EO No. 546.
Section 3 references their sworn duty to implement Section 16 of the Local Government Code.
They must include, in the integrated area/community public safety plan of their city/municipality, a priority program/action thrust in resolving insurgency and other serious threats to national security, and ensure appropriation for effective implementation.
In Section 2, they facilitate the concurrence requirement for deputizing barangay tanods. In Section 4, they are involved in coordination to include and implement the priority program in the integrated public safety plan.
It implies coordinated and integrated actions among national agencies and LGUs to address security threats effectively. EO 546 reflects this by directing PNP support to AFP, requiring local planning (public safety plans), and ensuring LGU funding and coordination through LCEs and peace and order councils.
The EO identifies the National Democratic Front (NDF), Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and its military arm the New People’s Army (NPA). This matters because it frames the specific threat context and purpose of the support and internal security measures.
PNP support is for internal security operations involving suppression of insurgency and other serious threats to national security.
It revokes, amends, or modifies any executive issuances, rules, regulations, or parts thereof that are inconsistent with EO No. 546.
It takes effect immediately (Section 6). This is relevant because local units and concerned agencies are expected to act promptly according to the EO’s directives.
The order, consistent with RA 6975 framework, recognizes AFP as having primary responsibility and PNP as performing ordinary police functions and information gathering, with combat support only when the President calls for it—reflecting distinct mandates under the general internal security framework.
Students should examine the statutory authority, the requirement of concurrence by the Local Chief Executive through the Local Peace and Order Council, the scope of their role as “force multipliers,” and how their deputization aligns with constitutional limits and police powers.