By your words…

As I watched two senior police officers defend and explain the killing of 17-year-old Kian Loyd de los Santos, I had to shake my head in dismay and wish they had undergone several of the many media communications training that their very own Directorate for Police Community Relations conduct regularly. They obviously did not get enough training on media communications and engagement and did not consult the experts and did not have a prepared Comms plan. In fact most of the top officials of the PNP exempt themselves from such training only to pay the penalty of their ignorance later.

NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde and NPD Director Robert Fajardo may have been the persons with authority to speak at the Press-con on the killing of “Kian,” but they were also under duress and last to know intimate details of the case. Albayalde was visibly flustered while Fajardo was understandably bordering on belligerent or combative given the unpleasant task of defending his men for a messy operation that was riddled with violations to say the least. At one point Fajardo was chiding the media for “sinakyan” or riding on the notion that Kian was a saint. Fortunately, he restrained himself quickly enough not to suffer the fate and condemnation that a fast talking Caloocan fiscal suffered for a similar statement on social media.

What Albayalde and Fajardo know of the case is third hand information based on reports provided, but unlike many Lawyers who are trained professionals at defending the most controversial cases, the PNP officers were not happy about being put on the spot. Defending the accused is a lawyer’s job not high-ranking PNP officials.

Every time I teach on Media and Communications at the PNP headquarters, I tell them to choose the correct team for every Press Conference. A “Junior” officer conducts Media briefings that are just updates often done by the officer standing up. However in more serious matters such as the killing of “Kian”, they should have set it up as a sit-down Press Conference to lessen the stress on Albayalde and Fajardo, and to insure order and control.

I would also have suggested that Albayalde and Fajardo stay out of the firing line and selected someone detached and impersonal. If one of them like Albayalde had to be there, he would be limited to the opening and closing remarks or addressing questions he alone could answer, otherwise, all other questions will be passed on to his support team of speakers. For impact and transparency I would have suggested they present the members of the team that conducted the raid but limited their statements “due to advise of counsel and on-going investigations.” They do the same thing in many developed countries. Coming out in the open would have said “We have nothing to hide” – “We stand by our actions.”

The second big mistake in the Albayalde - Fajardo Tandem briefing was they attempted to placate and justify to the media an already controversial killing of a minor. That attempt as they may have discovered was like walking into a small pond full of hungry Piranhas.

If they had made the effort to consult and come up with a Comms plan, the best position would have been a Neutral – Positive stance stating “An investigation has been ordered by President Duterte / Chief PNP De la Rosa” – “it will be fair and impartial” – the family will be updated and the PNP will cooperate with all parties or agencies concerned.” Even PNP Chief “Bato” de la Rosa was a step ahead of the pack by saying “I will not tolerate any abuse from any of my men.” It was what people needed and wanted to hear and it gave hope for justice and fairness. If Chief Bato held a one-man press-con and said ONLY that with firmness and conviction and then left, that would have been enough!

The worst thing is to add fuel to the fire by adding insult to injury as other PNP officials did. First they justified the killing because “the boy was a minor used as a courier, which makes him exempt from going to jail, while earning 17 thousand pesos for the job.” As already pointed out by half the republic, you don’t kill a person for being a courier especially a minor when two hooded men already have him in custody. If he were used as a courier because he was a minor, he would know that he did not have to carry a .45 caliber pistol with his weaker left hand because he was right handed. Shooting a minor in the back then giving him a “Double tap” on the head is the work of an assassin not a police officer.

The insult came when Kian’s family was painted out to be drug users and in the drug business. Assuming all that were true, the harsh reality of life is you don’t throw such carelessly timed statements when the family is in mourning and in shock and while public sentiment is against you. By having a proper Comms plan, Albayalde and Fajardo could have mapped out their media engagement and avoided a misencounter with the media and the viewing public.

Consider what the Bible teaches us in the Book of Proverbs 10:19: “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth close”. Then in the book of Matthew 12: 34-37 “ For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Once again because of the sins of a handful, the entire PNP is being judged not only for a bad operation but also because of poor communications.

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