No cop-shaming for Cascolan

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no public shaming of police officers caught sleeping while on duty during the term of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan.

Cascolan ­ who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on Nov. 10 expressed yesterday his displeasure over the practice by some PNP officials of humiliating police officers in front of members of media.

For Cascolan, the proper approach would be to first ask a police officer why he fell asleep at their office instead of immediately berating him in public.

“Kung may makita akong isang pulis na naka-uniporme na natutulog, sasabihin ko lang pagod ‘yan (If I see a police officer in uniform sleeping, I would say he was tired),” he told The STAR in an interview.

Cascolan’s predecessor, former PNP chief Archie Gamboa, is also not fond of shaming police officers in public for sleeping while on duty.

Former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, Gamboa’s predecessor, has humiliated police officers in front of television cameras during surprise inspections of police stations when he was director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Even PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, when he was NCRPO director, publicly berated police officers on night shift duty whom he caught sleeping during his random inspections.

Cascolan said officials should not immediately jump to the conclusion that police officers, especially those on night shift, whom they caught sleeping are lazy, adding it could be the exact opposite.

Police officers assigned to stations usually work on 12-hour shifts, a schedule that Cascolan wants to cut to eight hours to give their troops more time to rest and be with their families.

However, Cascolan said the situation is different if police officers are caught sleeping in their offices in their pajamas. He also vowed no mercy for police officers having a drinking binge at police
stations.

“Matinding kaso ka talaga sa akin. Hahampasin pa kita (You will face serious charges. I will even beat you),” he said.

Cascolan is known within the PNP to berate police officers in private rather in front of reporters covering the police beat.