EDITORIAL - Morally right

The valedictorian of this year’s graduating Maragtas class in the Philippine National Police Academy has reportedly vowed to do what is “morally right.” This is a most encouraging statement in the time of Oplan Tokhang. The nation can only hope Fritz John Vallador will stick to his ideals and won’t be led astray as he joins the PNP Special Action Force.

In recent years, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has managed to achieve a degree of professionalism sufficient enough to calm fears about the return of martial law and its one-year extension. Although complaints especially from communist rebels and their fronts persist about human rights violations by the AFP, it has come to be regarded with public respect and confidence that it is there to defend the people rather than the person in power.

This has not been the case with the PNP. It would take a long time to undo the damage inflicted on the institution by persistent reports about the systematic use of torture and mass executions in law enforcement.

Worse, the violence may be inspiring the next generation of police officers. The PNP must see to it that there will be no whitewash of the violence that marred the graduation of Vallador’s class. Instead of undergoing the traditional dunking into a pool by first year cadets, six members of the graduating class reportedly landed in a hospital allegedly after being struck on the head with paddles by their underclassmen.

A thorough, impartial probe of the incident is required especially because the son of PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa, nicknamed Rock, belongs to the underclass batch. The beating allegedly took place just after President Duterte had addressed the graduation ceremonies last week.

Members of the graduating class should launch their careers in law enforcement by helping to ensure that all the culprits will be identified and brought to justice. For their valedictorian, it will be the first test of his resolve to do what is morally right.