By virtue of Act No. 70 of the US Philippine (Taft) Commission, enacted and implemented on January 9, 1901,[3] MacArthur, being Provost Marshal General and military governor at that time, organized the Metropolitan Police Force of Manila, with himself as its first chief. The Act also authorized its operation outside its jurisdiction.[2][4] An entirely American body, the force was first stationed at the present-day Goldenberg Mansion, San Miguel.[4]
With the enactment of Act No. 183 on July 31 of the same year that established the Manila city charter which became effective a week later,[5] the power vested in the Provost Marshal to exercise general supervisory control over the police and other departments of the city government was transferred; the force was reorganized and was headed first by Lieutenant Colonel John L. Tiernon, and later by Captain George Curry.[2][4][6]
The police force was renamed into the Manila Police District, and was initially composed by 357 troops from the American Volunteer Force to the Philippines. The MPD has jurisdiction five miles from the city limits and three miles from the shores to Manila Bay. This led into disputes with the Philippine Constabulary, which had police powers elsewhere in the Philippines. In 1907, the MPD was split into two: the Meisic Police Station north of the Pasig River and the Luneta Police Station south of the river. By 1935, the headquarters was moved to the new Manila City Hall.[4]
On March 2, 1936, Antonio Torres, then a member of the Manila City Council, was appointed chief, the first Filipino do so. However, in 1942 at the outset of World War II, the Kempetai, the Japanese Military Police, ordered Torres to submit to their authority. After the Battle of Manila, the combined American and Filipino troops reorganized the police force, and Allied forces were appointed chiefs until the appointment of Lamberto Javalera as acting chief of police.[4]
Third Republic
In 1949, the MPD transferred their headquarters for the last time, in a newly constructed building at the corner of San Marcelino and Isaac Peral (now United Nations Avenue); the funding of the reconstruction came from the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1948. By this time, the President of the Philippines had appointment powers to the office. Notable was the appointment of Ricardo Papa, who organized an anti-smuggling unit that minimized smuggling in the city.[4]
Martial law to the present
Facade of the Ermita Police Station of the Manila Police District.
On September 21, 1972, president Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the country and created the Integrated National Police, with the Philippine Constabulary as its nucleus. On December 20, 1974, James Barbers was appointed Superintendent (Police Chief) of the Western Police District (WPD). Metropolitan Police Force (MPF).[4] On February 26, 1986, Marcos was overthrown after the People Power Revolution. A few months later, Alfredo Lim was appointed chief and increased the number of precincts from six to ten. Lim would later be director of the National Bureau of Investigation, Mayor of Manila and Senator. In 1990, the Interior and Local Government Act 1990.was promulgated, that created the Philippine National Police, absorbing the Philippine Constabulary. Other notable names who had been named as WPD chief are Hermogenes Ebdane on November 5, 1993, and Avelino Razon on June 16, 1996, and December 20, 1999.[4] The two were later named chiefs of the PNP.
On July 20, 2005, the WPD reverted to their former name back to the Manila Police District.[4]
Anniversary commemoration
The anniversary of the Manila police force was celebrated on July 31 until the early 1980s when records showed that it was actually on January 9.[2]
The issue of changing the foundation date began when Brig. Gen. James Barbers, then WPD superintendent, had read the 1933 book Philippine Police System and Its Problems, called Miguel Parungao, historian and curator of the Manila Metropolitan Police Museum, who was able to confirm the information by finding the document of Act No. 70. It also confirmed the fact that MacArthur, not Curry, was the first Manila police chief.[2]
This was eventually resolved by top law enforcement officials when WPD, under the leadership of P/Brig. Gen. Narciso Cabrera, observed for the first time the actual foundation on January 9, 1983.[2]
The MPD is organized into eleven (11) police stations and several district support units:[7][8]
MPD Director - P/CSUPT ISAGANI F GENABE PNP supervises the security operations during the 2013 Philippine Bar Examination.DOT Secretary Alberto Lim turns over to PSRINSP Jovan Sicat twenty (20) bikes for the use of the Manila Police District Tourist Police.
Base Units
Administrative Support Units
District Tactical Operations Center
District Headquarters Support Unit
District Headquarters Service Unit
District Human Resources and Administration Office
District Internal Affairs Service
District Legal Unit
District Chaplain Service
District Information Technology Unit
District Scene Of the Crime Operatives
Operations Support Units
District Public Safety Battalion
District Traffic Enforcement Group
District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit
District Anti-Illegal Drugs - Special Operations Task Group
District Public Information Office
District Highway Patrol Group
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group
District Intelligence Division
Line Units
MPD Station 1 (Balut Police Station) - Balut, Tondo
MPD Station 2 (Moriones Police Station) - Moriones, Tondo
MPD Station 3 (Sta Cruz Police Station) - Sta Cruz, Manila
MPD Station 4 (Sampaloc Police Station) - Sampaloc, Manila
MPD Station 5 (Ermita Police Station) - Ermita, Manila
MPD Station 6 (Sta Ana Police Station) - Sta Ana, Manila
MPD Station 7 (Abad Santos Police Station) - Jose Abad Santos, Manila
MPD Station 8 (Sta Mesa Police Station) - Sta Mesa, Manila
MPD Station 9 (Malate Police Station) - Malate, Manila
MPD Station 10 (Pandacan Police Station) - Pandacan, Manila
The PNP in general, and the MPD in particular, is characterized as slow, unfit, trigger-happy and corrupt. Several policemen have been arrested for committing extortion against violators of the law (popularly known as "kotong," hence the term "kotong cop").[9] Police are also involved in shootouts, or using excessive force against suspects.[10]
Recently two issues have been hurled against the MPD. One is the recent exposé of a policeman torturing a suspect in a police precinct in Tondo. The officer who allegedly tortured the suspect was filed with administrative chargers[11] Another was the inept resolution of the Manila hostage crisis which resulted in the death of 8 tourists from Hong Kong. MPD chief Rolando Magtibay was sacked two days after the failed assault.[12] His replacement, Senior Superintendent Francisco Villaroman, made acting head of the MPD, was replaced after one day. Police did not comment on his removal. However, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said Villaroman was among police officers charged in the disappearance of two Hong Kong residents in the Philippines in 1998 and 1999. Villaroman said that the matter was heavily politicized, as it was linked to the affairs of the then at-large Senator Panfilo Lacson.[13]
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