Res Gestae
Isolated cases?!?
My mind is still drifting with the unforgiving feeling after seeing recently the news on the involvements of few police officers in at least 3 separate incidents, nay irregular/illegal activities: -- extortion in Valenzuela City, gun-tooting in Zarraga (Iloilo), and indiscriminate firing in Lapaz District (Iloilo City).
All these, however, were isolated cases. This, the respective chiefs of police explained to the media.
Having heard of it countless times, I consider the use of "isolated case" not a cliché anymore but an abused defense in police investigation. What is "isolated" case and which is not anyway?
Extortion, gun-tooting, indiscriminate firing, name it, are issues confronting the country's police force for decades. These maybe are isolated the first time these acts were committed. These can still be considered isolated the second time, third or even in the tenth times these happened. But, I beg to disagree to call these cases isolated, not at this time. The PNP Integrated Transformation Program has kicked off three years ago and committing these irregularities is in no way deserve an excuse.
The thrust of the PNP Integrated Transformation Program is clear: To set the road map for long-term and lasting reforms in the PNP. It aims to resolve organizational and systemic dysfunction, improve morale and welfare of personnel, and strengthen the law enforcement capability of the police. The program presents a comprehensive and holistic approach to reform the PNP with its honest-to-goodness assessment of its present institutional framework policies, systems, structures, and procedures.
The PNP calls for organizational reform and its members are no ignorant of their roles, duties, responsibilities, and the needed commitment in lieu with the program. Hence, any blatant disregard to their mandates as police officers cannot be tolerated, for it stains the image of Mamang Pulis and Aleng Pulis. To this effect, violations of the PNP Integrated Transformation Program must be dealt with full force of the law. Didn't we hear Razon's pronouncement when he said, "absolutely no place for abusive behavior in the police service, and while there may be a few left of these undesirables, we shall not cease to find, identify and punish or remove them from the service."
Let me (re) emphasize the fact that the PNP is not judged with the voluminous pages of its accomplishments but by every single act of its members. The public can hardly notice the positive developments in the organization but it is too keen to note the lapses, however minor, of few police officers. Well, this has been the trend in our value judgment, and for the PNP to take this fact for granted means pushing the organization deeper down the drain.
Let me illustrate my argument.
If extortion that happened in Valenzuela City (which the TV reporter dubbed as "Police Blotter for Sale") was an isolated case and extortion activity, of whatever nature, also exists in other parts of the country (let us say, one case per province), does the PNP think people will believe these are but isolated cases?
The PNP has been bombarded with issues on extortion before I entered grade school; same issues are haunting it, now that I am a husband, a father, an employee, a leader, a columnist.
As far as I am concerned, there are no more isolated cases if we talk of extortion, gun-tooting, indiscriminate firing, and such other issues involving our police officers, but only recurring cases. History of irregularities perpetrated by PNP personnel keeps on repeating itself. Or, applying the adage to our topic, we can say, "isolated cases before are still isolated cases today" (?).
Indeed, it is alarming should the PNP fail to transcend the cliché, nay abuse, of using "isolated case" as a defense against issues involving its members. It is alarming because to rephrase Benjamin Franklin, "it takes many good police officers to establish good reputation of the PNP, and only few scalawags to destroy it."
(Send your reactions, comments and suggestions to 09193161190 or rogatepnp@yahoo.com)