Siquijor town home of first-ever all-female police station
Published Sep 14, 2019 12:16 pm
By Aaron Recuenco
Once upon a time in one of the coastal areas of what is now called Siquijor, there lived a beautiful forest goddess who cured a mysterious disease that had claimed the lives of a lot of children.
‘MariangPulis,’ the 21-woman strong of Maria Municipal Police Station (Photo from PNP-PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In her honor, the settlement of Datu-led natives was named after her, Kangminya.
Apparently aware of this folklore, the settlement and now a town was renamed to another woman, Maria, by Spanish colonizers in 1800s.
Fast forward to September, 2019, the Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to honor the role of a women in the rich history of the establishment of the municipality of Maria in Siquijor by launching an all-women police force on Saturday.
“This is the first-ever Municipal Police Station run by all-women police officers. This is a game-changing reform on women empowerment that makes this a history for the Philippine National Police,” said Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesman.
Called as Mariang Pulis, the 21-woman strong Maria Municipal Police Station is led by Police Capt. Judith Besas.
Banac said that prior to the launch, there were only six women in the town, mostly doing office works while some are assigned to the Women and Children welfare desk.
Col. Angela Rejano, the provincial police director of Siquijor, then came up with the idea of converting the town's police station into an all-female force.
Her idea was backed by Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, Central Visayas regional police director, who immediately have the go-signal for her peculiar project.
She then started to recruit qualified policewomen in the province and chose those who passed the examinations and rigid physical, medical and mental tests.
“We chose selected female officers to undertake capacity development training,” said Rejano.
“They were trained on driving, shooting, arresting techniques, and other police operation and intervention procedures,” she added.
Among them were the setting up and manning of checkpoints, Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and first aid.
As of now, Rejano said the Maria Police Station is now operating in full capacity with 21 total police strength which is normal police force for a Class C municipality.
The tale of Menia
In a book “The Mermaid from Siquijor” by Justine Camacho-Tajonera, it tells about the decision of Datu Umapaw to leave their settlement after they were plagued by a mysterious disease that left a number of the children dead.
The disease came along with a drought that affected the crops, prompting the local leaders to believe that the settlement was cursed and therefore, they need to find a new home.
But a brave young warrior named Omayon believed that he could find a cure in a deep forest in the area. He then went on alone and chanced upon a white deer which he believed could cure the disease if he would be able to kill and bring it to the settlement.
The white deer, however, turned into a beautiful goddess before Omayon could hit it with his arrow.
The forest goddess, Menia, knew Omayon by his name and what his intention was in going to the forest.
Menia, described in the book as having a face as radiant as the Sun, then agreed to go to the settlement where she concocted medicine that cured the mysterious disease.
She also helped in improving the livestock and crops of the settlement before she went back to the forest, never to be seen again.
In her honor, the settlement was named Kangmenia.
The then settlement is now named Maria with 22 barangays and a population of more or less 13,500 based on the 2015 census.
Policewomen rock
“Having initiated this new concept of gender and development for policewomen in Siquijor, the Mariang Pulis signals the time to move forward in promoting the vision and mission of the PNP in creating an opportunity for women to strengthen their role in the context of policing in the law enforcement pillar,” said Rejano.
“This move will strongly advance women empowerment in promoting public safety and security services at all levels of police units and offices in the region,” said Sinas.
Recently, the PNP Highway Patrol Group deployed all-female police motorcycle riders to help in addressing the traffic problems in Metro Manila, particularly the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
While the PNP is dominated by male cops, there were several female officers who etched their mark in the PNP history, among them is retired general Lina Sarmiento who is the first and remains the only female PNP officer who reached the two-star rank, or police major general.
In Cebu City, Col. Royina Garma became popular for leading the anti-crime operations, particularly in the campaign against illegal drugs. She retired in the police service after being appointed as chairperson of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
‘MariangPulis,’ the 21-woman strong of Maria Municipal Police Station (Photo from PNP-PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In her honor, the settlement of Datu-led natives was named after her, Kangminya.
Apparently aware of this folklore, the settlement and now a town was renamed to another woman, Maria, by Spanish colonizers in 1800s.
Fast forward to September, 2019, the Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to honor the role of a women in the rich history of the establishment of the municipality of Maria in Siquijor by launching an all-women police force on Saturday.
“This is the first-ever Municipal Police Station run by all-women police officers. This is a game-changing reform on women empowerment that makes this a history for the Philippine National Police,” said Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesman.
Called as Mariang Pulis, the 21-woman strong Maria Municipal Police Station is led by Police Capt. Judith Besas.
Banac said that prior to the launch, there were only six women in the town, mostly doing office works while some are assigned to the Women and Children welfare desk.
Col. Angela Rejano, the provincial police director of Siquijor, then came up with the idea of converting the town's police station into an all-female force.
Her idea was backed by Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, Central Visayas regional police director, who immediately have the go-signal for her peculiar project.
She then started to recruit qualified policewomen in the province and chose those who passed the examinations and rigid physical, medical and mental tests.
“We chose selected female officers to undertake capacity development training,” said Rejano.
“They were trained on driving, shooting, arresting techniques, and other police operation and intervention procedures,” she added.
Among them were the setting up and manning of checkpoints, Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and first aid.
As of now, Rejano said the Maria Police Station is now operating in full capacity with 21 total police strength which is normal police force for a Class C municipality.
The tale of Menia
In a book “The Mermaid from Siquijor” by Justine Camacho-Tajonera, it tells about the decision of Datu Umapaw to leave their settlement after they were plagued by a mysterious disease that left a number of the children dead.
The disease came along with a drought that affected the crops, prompting the local leaders to believe that the settlement was cursed and therefore, they need to find a new home.
But a brave young warrior named Omayon believed that he could find a cure in a deep forest in the area. He then went on alone and chanced upon a white deer which he believed could cure the disease if he would be able to kill and bring it to the settlement.
The white deer, however, turned into a beautiful goddess before Omayon could hit it with his arrow.
The forest goddess, Menia, knew Omayon by his name and what his intention was in going to the forest.
Menia, described in the book as having a face as radiant as the Sun, then agreed to go to the settlement where she concocted medicine that cured the mysterious disease.
She also helped in improving the livestock and crops of the settlement before she went back to the forest, never to be seen again.
In her honor, the settlement was named Kangmenia.
The then settlement is now named Maria with 22 barangays and a population of more or less 13,500 based on the 2015 census.
Policewomen rock
“Having initiated this new concept of gender and development for policewomen in Siquijor, the Mariang Pulis signals the time to move forward in promoting the vision and mission of the PNP in creating an opportunity for women to strengthen their role in the context of policing in the law enforcement pillar,” said Rejano.
“This move will strongly advance women empowerment in promoting public safety and security services at all levels of police units and offices in the region,” said Sinas.
Recently, the PNP Highway Patrol Group deployed all-female police motorcycle riders to help in addressing the traffic problems in Metro Manila, particularly the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
While the PNP is dominated by male cops, there were several female officers who etched their mark in the PNP history, among them is retired general Lina Sarmiento who is the first and remains the only female PNP officer who reached the two-star rank, or police major general.
In Cebu City, Col. Royina Garma became popular for leading the anti-crime operations, particularly in the campaign against illegal drugs. She retired in the police service after being appointed as chairperson of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.