Tough to be top cop

Two erstwhile chiefs of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Avelino “Sonny” Razon Jr. and Arturo Lomibao, are back in the saddle with their appointments in their respective new posts as civilian public servants.

Actually, Lomibao has been into several other civilian posts since his retirement from the service on July 5, 2006. But his newest assignment has finally found use of his vast experience in the police service. President Arroyo named Lomibao to head the National Counter-Terrorism Action Group. As I gathered, this is an operating body under the Anti-Terrorism Council created by the Human Security Act of 2007.

In the case of Razon, the President designated him as deputy director-general of the National Security Council (NSC). Razon is deputy of national security adviser Norberto Gonzales who sits as NSC director-general.

Both Lomibao and Razon had their respective shares of challenges and baptisms of fire that were experienced also by their distinguished predecessors at the PNP when they became the top cops of our country. Thus, incumbent PNP director-general Jesus Verzosa should expect no less to come his way, too.

On the day he was to assume the PNP helm on March 13, 2005, Lomibao had his first acid test. Jailed Abu Sayyaf leaders in Bicutan detention in Taguig City tried but failed to escape. Lomibao’s capable leadership ended this bloody incident to government’s favor.

Razon headed the PNP from Oct. 1, 2007 until Sept. 27 this year. He, too, had his own challenges as PNP chief, one of which was the Manila Peninsula “siege” on Nov. 29 last year when detained Oakwood leader-turned Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and his rabid “Magdalo” supporters staged a court walkout in Makati City.

Barely a month as PNP chief, Verzosa is faced with a scandal-proportion problem when a group of eight top PNP officers went on official mission abroad and one of them got entangled with airport authorities in Moscow for undeclared euro money in his possession.

Verzosa showed the stuff of leadership as he appeared before the Senate public hearing on Oct. 23. He braved the acid tongue of feisty Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. He displayed his training at the Philippine Military Academy as officer and gentleman when he respectfully and squarely addressed the issues raised in that Senate hearing.

As he had promised to the Senators, Verzosa initiated the punitive procedures on the eight police delegates who went to Russia, plus the three Camp Crame finance executives as well who had released the P6.93-million cash advance to soon-to-retire at that time, PNP comptroller Police Director Eliseo dela Paz. The retirement of Dela Paz took effect on Oct. 9 when the PNP delegates were still in St. Petersburg.

Santiago, as the chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, grilled Verzosa for the acts of Dela Paz and all of the eight PNP delegates after they attended the 77th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in St. Petersburg. During that hearing, Sen. Manuel Roxas II, vice chairman of Santiago in this Senate committee, also took to task the PNP’s failure to explain why Dela Paz was caught red-handed by Moscow airport police with 105,000 euros in his carry-on bag on his way out of Russia.

What made the situation a lot worse for Verzosa was his seeming inability to explain under Roxas’ grilling where the euro stash came from and who had green-lighted its release, ostensibly as a cash advance by Dela Paz for the standby revolving fund of the PNP delegation to the Interpol conference. All that was said during the hearing was that Dela Paz took it upon himself to take the money from his cash advance bonded authority of up to P10 million, in his capacity as special disbursing officer of the PNP delegation during the trip to Russia.

 Verzosa had sought to pacify the incensed Santiago and Roxas by assuring them last week that there will be no whitewash in the PNP’s internal investigation being conducted by its Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), and that its findings would be submitted to the committee on Monday.

In response to the DIDM probe findings, Verzosa initiated the punitive procedures against the principal characters in this controversy — including his PMA Class 1976 mistahs. Even the likes of Sen. Roxas are now seeing the police chief and the PNP itself in a relatively much better light.

Verzosa’s surprisingly uncompromising stance against this controversy’s principal characters is enough ground for the Senator-probers and the public as well, to suspend judgment on this matter until after the PNP has taken such legal actions to their logical conclusions.

It would also be better for Santiago and the other committee members to grant Verzosa his day in court instead of hastily approving and releasing the draft committee report that was finished by herself in record time. Santiago was obviously in a hurry to finish her report before she, too, had gone abroad — to New York — barely 24 hours after the close of the one-and-only Senate probe of this incident.

Our Senators ought to take a second look at Verzosa’s earlier proposal for the Senate to hold an executive session with the PNP chief. He is only too willing to tell the whole truth about this controversy without compromising national security-related matters if not told before a public hearing covered live by media on TV and on radio.

Hence, Senators apparently raring for the kill would do well to give a semblance of fair play to the police officers. The Senators should lead by example in their pontification to law enforcers to respect due process. Otherwise, they will only be confirming a growing public perception that most Senate investigations are nothing more than publicity-driven hack jobs masquerading as legitimate inquiries “in aid of legislation.”

Verzosa is fortunate, though, that he stands on solid ground of public support for the PNP out of the successful “Mamang Pulis” program of Razon. This campaign generated popular response from the public in terms of redeemed image of our policemen who, in the eyes of the people, are doing a better job as law enforcers. It’s a tough act to follow but Verzosa could perhaps deliver better if the country’s top cop is given this chance.