Bato

Bato-bato sa langit, ’pag tinamaan huwag magagalit.                 

What happened to the Philippine National Police (PNP)? Why were “Oplan Tokhang” and “Project Double Barrel” (anti-drug operations) suddenly taken away from the PNP? The President just signed a memorandum assigning the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to take over and be the lead in all drug-related operations.

 In the first place, why did the President even assign these tasks to the PNP? Clearly, he wanted to wipe out the drug problems immediately. Later he realized how colossal and deeply-rooted the problem is. The problem is why did he give it to the police force who allegedly has been involved in collecting drug money and/ or even involved in this drug menace since time immemorial? Wasn’t this the reason why from Republic Act No. 6425, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 was born?

Why did the PNP fail to do the job? Why did the President become exasperated with them? Why did the President suddenly assigned PDEA to lead the war? So many questions asked, so many analyses made but in the end the big question is: Was the PNP ready to do the job?

My answer is a big fat NO! The Philippine National Police force was not ready to fight this battle. First of all, they should have cleansed themselves. Second, they should have re-organized and restructured their offices and personnel. Third, they should all have undergone an intensive in-service training to renew their spirit, their morals, their value-system and take to heart their function.

Sadly, even with the new administration the police force has not changed. The police continue to live as if they are the immortal ones, the most powerful ones. And yes, they have the reputation of being the worst oppressors!

Just observe the Chief PNP himself. He prances and sings with a natural talent – feeling the glory all over the place with his new-found power. He talks to his men as if they are animals. He cracks a joke or two but once caught off guard cries and weeps all over the place. He is like his other generals in the force who oppress the rest of their men in uniform; intimidating them; threatening them to be removed from work if they do not obey.

I have come across reports of PNP generals who do not follow basic traffic laws alone and once apprehended, they would get the names of the traffic enforcers or police in the streets and tell them, “Kilala mo ba ako? Papa-tanggal kita sa pwesto mo.” Shouldn’t they be happy that the law is being enforced? Why do they need to use their power to absolve them from a crime or a violation of the law? Then the poor traffic enforcers, police or security guards are asked to report to the headquarters where another intimidation, cruelty, injustice and maltreatment will be done. Sanamagan!

A few years ago, I wrote about a police officer who bumped an SUV in Angeles City. The police officer was clearly at fault but she turned the tables around and made it the fault of the SUV driver. The police officer thought she could easily get away by despotism. But her name was given to the headquarters, the owner of the SUV filed a complaint against her. She was reprimanded and was ordered to apologize to the driver. But this does not happen that easily, you’ll need an influential backer to support your plea, someone higher in authority than the PNP officer in question.

Another common and irksome scenario today, are those involving the wives of the PNP officers who are newly installed. They have suddenly acquired some sort of power they never had in their entire lives and now they are using it in such a shameful manner that it weakens and cheapens the reputation of the force. Susmariosep!

So where has honor, respect and commitment to the force gone? The PNP needs to clean its act first. They need to do a lot of purging to regain the prestige and achieve good reputation. Clearly, the structure has crumbled and it is impossible to put it back together until our police force will change from within. They will always be linked to corruption, drugs, kidnapping, robbery, killings, molestations, crime and syndicates. Evil lies in the dark corners of the community. They need to clean up inside and out.

They need professional help. They have way too many concerns to work on: police morality, police incompetence, police corruption, police brutality, police syndicate, etc.

In the past several months, we have seen a significant number of unexplained killings or deaths still under investigation; increase in the number of deaths due to riding-in-tandem gunmen; increase in unresolved deaths of minors. This just shows that the PNP has not succeeded in creating a peaceful environment. It has only contributed to more chaos and wreaked havoc and fear amongst our countrymen. Sure, they could have killed the criminals but did they do it in accordance with the law? If all the bad elements were vaporized into oblivion, then why are we so worried now? Fear and distrust on the PNP has increased to greater heights in recent weeks. This is clearly one of the major causes of the dip in popularity of President Duterte. If we cannot trust the PNP, where do we go now for protection? The PNP can continue with their programs to eradicate crime and violence but they should do it with careful and good planning and proper training.

By now, General Bato must have realized that being the PNP chief is more than popularity, more than the fun in guesting in entertainment shows, being interviewed by top news anchors, having a grand time watching a Pacquiao fight, cheering for his favorite basketball team. General Bato, you’ve been given such a delicate and demanding task, please take it seriously.

In the article, How Police Can Get It Right written by Patrik Jonsson on Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, he said, “Where to strike the balance between using potentially lethal force and holding back is something that beat cops and chiefs are struggling with across the country in the wake of the most searing debate over police tactics in a half century. Top cops such as Turner want to make sure that their rank-and-file officers are using the necessary force to keep the public and themselves safe, but they also want to avoid the excessive policing practices that have stirred racial unrest and frayed police-community relations nationwide.”

He added, “Over the past five years, Turner has helped changed the culture of force that was reeling from misconduct scandals and the stern reprimands of federal judges. He has dramatically diversified the face of his department, discouraged racking up petty arrests that fall disproportionately on minorities, tapped the power of big data to institute preventive policing, and tried to create a more humane force. While critics still believe the Atlanta Police Department has ways to go, Turner, by many accounts, has created one of the more professional departments in the United States.”

Amidst the war on drugs, is the erosion of trust and respect between the police and the citizens. Regaining that confidence and respect from the people is the challenge that General Bato has to face.