Lawbreakers
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has an image problem. Not to say that it has not had one in the past, or that its image has always been spotless. But we are tempted to say that this time, the problem could be irreversible.
To most observers, the slide to ignominy began over three years ago when the PNP launched a bloody drug war that scandalized even the international community for its ferocity and brazenness. Then came the alleged involvement of the former PNP chief in the recycling of illegal drugs. The scandal nearly broke the institution. After the resignation of the country’s top cop, the search was on, it seems, for a new PNP chief that would symbolize a new police force, a reformer who would work to restore the public’s trust in the institution.
For a time, there was hope that the new PNP chief would be such a reformer. And his maiden statement held out the promise of a new type of leadership. Media quoted him as saying: “As a lawyer, I want every member of the PNP to be most respectful of the rule of law and everything that its stands for…. There shall be no individual or unit action outside of the justice system under any circumstances. Everything shall be above-board and compliant with the requirements of due process, human rights, transparency, and public accountability.”
But words are apparently a dime a dozen. The promise failed to match the reality.
This became more apparent when the administration placed Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon on lockdown and the PNP was tasked with implementing strict quarantine rules. Thus far, up to 41,000 people have been arrested for violating these rules. But the overall conduct of enforcement has been marred by what many perceive as excessive force and the wholesale disregard of civil liberties.
The shooting of a former Army man — said to be suffering from war shock — by a police officer illustrates the heavy-handed manner by which the police implements the lockdown. In the face of outrage, however, the PNP chief immediately cleared the police officer. This did not sit well with the Philippine Army, which requested the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation. As this column is being written, media has reported that the NBI probe revealed that the gun allegedly found by the police in the former Army man’s possession was planted. The PNP, after a belated investigation, has kled a case against the police officer.
And the
PNP seems to be jumping from one controversy to another. Last week, photos of a birthday party thrown in honor of the NCRPO chief once again sparked public indignation. The gathering — fully documented with photos in the official social media page of the NCRPO — smacks of hypocrisy, double standard, and a sense of entitlement, of being above the law they have sworn to uphold evenly. Ordinary citizens have been punished severely for the same violations.
In the face of public indignation, the PNP chief once again came to the rescue of his men. He immediately declared no violations had been committed. Again, he made these statements in the absence of an investigation.
But this time, the PNP chief found himself isolated from the rest of government. The Interior Secretary, who exercises supervision over the PNP, criticized the gathering. So did a number of senior government ofkcials. The President, according to his spokesman, found the gathering “wrong.”
After a quick investigation, the PNP Internal Affairs Service filed criminal and administrative charges against the NCRPO chief and several ranking police officers present at the birthday party for violating quarantine rules.
This much is clear. The despised “bata-bata” system remains alive and well in the PNP under the present police leadership. It is a system where cops are expected to look the other way when their fellow cops commit infractions of the law. It is the same system that has made possible the involvement of policemen in more brazen crimes such as murder and the recycling of seized drugs.
As I have said in a previous column, it would take a reform-minded police general with a deep commitment to the ideals and values of the PNP to end the “bata-bata” system. The current police chief is set to retire in September. But a truly reformminded PNP chief remains elusive.