Days of name-droppers numbered
Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-in-Charge PLt. Gen. Archie Gamboa directed all personnel, particularly those deployed on the field, to ignore name-droppers and people who flash business cards of high-ranking police and government officials just to gain favors and allowed to go in tight situations including simple traffic violations.
Gamboa lamented how policemen tend to get easily intimidated when accosting law breakers who are fond of dropping names of their “friends in high places.”
“We will no longer tolerate this. Anyone who will not enforce the law just because somebody tells them that he is a friend of some government big shot will be charged administratively for negligence,” the official expressed.
The PNP OIC particularly noted that during the Holiday season where Metro Manila traffic has turned from worse to worst, many motorists break traffic rules just to get ahead in the gridlock thinking that their having business cards of police or government officials will bail them out of trouble.
Gamboa also reminded traffic policemen of their duty to strictly prohibit the use of sirens and blinkers for private individuals or even government officials who are not authorized by law to use these emergency contraptions.
He noted that some private individuals use sirens and blinkers to weave in and out of the traffic in the metropolis.
“Especially this Christmas season, there will surely be many hardheaded motorists. Everyone must obey (laws), all must be equal. We cannot eliminate corruption if we cannot even address this palakasan system even on simple traffic