‘Man up,’ Eleazar tells ‘Adams’
PNP can force child support payment Increasing reports of abandonment tied to rising salaries
Policemen who are certifiable “Adams” who go forth and multiply can no longer withhold financial support to their families, even to children born out of wedlock.
Metro Manila police chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar revealed yesterday during a roundtable discussion with the Daily Tribune that the Philippine National Police (PNP) can directly write checks to the dependents of a policeman remiss in his filial duties.
Eleazar said a portion of the policeman’s monthly pay may be given directly to his dependents if an investigation proves he has been withholding support.
PNP data showed that the number of wives who demanded financial support from absconding cops increased from 215 in 2017 to 301 in 2018. In the first quarter of 2019, 36 cases of withdrawal of support by policemen had been recorded.
Rising trends
“As to the seemingly rising trend in withholding support, I see that it may be because more are reporting such cases now because of social media and technology and because policemen’s salaries have increased,” Eleazar said in Filipino.
A rookie policeman’s monthly base pay had been increased by President Rodrigo Duterte by about 100 percent to nearly P30,000, something which Eleazar said is attracting more young men and women to join the PNP.
If a policeman’s child is born out of wedlock, Eleazar said they can write a check that would meet the needs of the child without the proceeds necessarily going to the mother.
Eleazar surmised that there may be no real, substantive increase in cases of abandonment compared to the past, but only an increase in the cases brought to the PNP’s attention for action.
“One thing is for sure in this administration. We cannot allow people to be aggrieved, especially the children of policemen with women whom they did not marry,” Eleazar said.
Among the top contenders to lead the PNP when General Oscar Albayalde retires in November, Eleazar grudgingly admitted that some policemen may be playing their being “Adams” to the hilt.
“Even before, some cops are real “Adams.” Now, since their pay had been increased, they tend to do what they like,” Eleazar said.
Upright lives
Still, the head of the five police districts in Metro Manila, said policemen are expected to lead upright lives and to serve as good examples to the citizenry.
“When you (Daily Tribune) write about this, for sure the complaints (seeking support) will come pouring in,” said Eleazar, who expressed sadness that in some face-to-face confrontation with policemen and their children, some cops tended to deny paternity.
In the case of such denials, Eleazar said DNA test may be utilized to prove paternity which, once proven, would allow the PNP to force a policeman to support his abandoned child.
“So, if it’s your misdeed, man up to it,” he said.
Eleazar said that while Mr. Duterte’s pay increase was most substantial for rookie policemen, the salary increases among the other ranks had also been adjusted.