More promises

At the Senate hearing conducted by Sen. Grace Poe as chairman of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, newly appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ricardo Marquez promised to put more policemen on the streets and remove them from office desks. He vowed not to retire until he sees police officers patrolling every street in the country as he made police visibility a key part of his vision for the PNP.

This is a usual promise made by four previous PNP chiefs appointed before him, but never implemented.

There is a need to increase PNP personnel to meet the ideal police-to-population ratio of 1:500. At present, the average ratio is 1:645 while some areas in Metro Manila the ratio stands at 1:1,000.

General Marquez suggested that applicants for police positions be no longer required to be college graduates, saying that there be a mechanism to help them finish their studies while in service. We question this suggestion. It is a backward step dating back to the days where applicants with two years of college training were accepted. At that time, the quality of policemen was poor prompting the requirement of a college degree for acceptance to  police ranks.

General Marquez admitted that female police officers were not promoted to senior positions. In fact, there is only one woman police general in PNP ranks. He promised to promote more police women officers.

The big question, can General Marquez bring down the crime incidence, the drug dealers, the kidnappers, the robbers, the murderers, and worse, the criminals in the police ranks? Let’s wait and see after six months what improvements will happen.

Sen. Poe asked police officials about the country’s crime rate, citing conflicting reports on a 46-percent increase in crimes since last year. This prompted the PNP to conduct an investigation, since based on their records there was a 1.7-percent decrease in the crime volume from the first semester of 2014 to the same period this year.

There are reports that some crimes were not properly reported or recorded by police authorities due to undue pressure to keep crime volume low and crime solution high and maintaining the good image of their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Surprisingly, General Marquez asked for funds to be prioritized for basic needs of the PNP such as new equipment and facilities. He also said they need new pistols, patrol jeeps and construct new police stations for the reason that some 800 stations are squatting in government offices.

The clear implication: Five years of President Noynoy Aquino has not solved the basic needs of the PNP. The President gave priority to the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, (AFP) releasing P75 billion for the purpose.

Brilliant son of FM

Sen. Bongbong Marcos delivered a brilliant sponsorship speech of his substitute Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL), now Senate Bill 2894, endorsed by 17 senators in the excellent committee report submitted by Sen. Marcos as chairman of the committee on local government.

The main thrust of Marcos’ sponsorship is eight major amendments headed by a commitment by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) not to declare an independent state. He emphasized that we could only achieve peace by making sure the BBL would be constitutional.

MILF Vice-Chairman Ghazali Jaafar issued a statement declaring the Marcos proposed substitute BBL as “unacceptable.”

Marcos predicted the interpellations will last at least six weeks.

Chief Negotiator Prof. Miriam Ferrer also criticized the substitute bill as a watered-down version that gave less powers to the chief minister than the present Autonomous Region in Muslim  Mindanao (ARMM) governor.

Another backlog

Besides the backlog of vehicle plates and driver licenses by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the delay in the repairs of Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) trains and tracks, add to these the backlog of passports reported by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

It now takes two to three months to get a passport. DFA admitted a backlog of 42,230 passports.

Assistant Secretary Frank Cimafranca blamed power cuts and the breakdowns of the machines at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The government agencies involved are causing inconvenience and punishing the public for their incompetence and inefficiency. This is unacceptable and inexcusable.

Tidbits

The Indian government has sued Nestle for contaminated noodles sold under its Maggi brand. The Indian government claimed the Maggi noodles contained high levels of lead.

Considering the food poisoning in several places due to contaminated pancit and noodles, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should examine noodles being sold in the markets.

Columnist Teddy Boy Locsin criticized the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for investigating the Cavite State University, for its student council invitation of Vice President Jejomar Binay as a guest speaker.

Barangay Chairman Rodolfo Boligao of Dapitan City, who was kidnapped by Abu Sayaff rebels, was found beheaded in Maimbug, Sulu.

Lawyer Amelie Ocañada-Alegre, 35, was shot dead while two of her companions, Antonio Pino, accountant, and Briccio Boholst,  former Mandaue City administrator, were wounded in Cebu.

A grenade exploded in front of a cafeteria in Cotabato City.

Condolence to Mariter Jalandoni-Macapagal on the death of her husband, Arturo. Also to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.