The Mind of Rody Duterte REFORMING A CONFUSED, CORRUPT PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE FORCE

By Manny Pinol

The Davao City Police Force under the guidance and support of Mayor Rody Duterte have been adjudged as the Most Outstanding City Police Force all over the country many times over, achievements which placed them in the so-called Hall of Fame.

Backed up by the only working 911 Emergency Response group anywhere in the country, the Davao City Police Force have earned the reputation of being hard-nosed law cops who enforce the law “without fear or favor.”

Several years ago, Mayor Duterte himself was arrested by traffic policemen for cruising the city streets in a Yamaha Verago without a helmet.

Actually, it was the Mayor himself who turned over his driver’s license to the traffic policemen who set up a mobile checkpoint along Ecoland Drive in the city flagging down motorcycle riders who had no helmets as they implemented the city ordinance on “No Helmet, No Travel.”

“They arrested so many motorcycle riders without helmet and I drove by in a motorcycle without a helmet myself. I had to apologize to the policemen but I told them to issue me a ticket or else the other people who were arrested would have looked with condescension at the policemen for being selective in enforcing the law,” Duterte recalled many years later.

Duterte said he underwent the mandatory seminar for traffic violators in the transportation office but naughtily admits he enjoyed it because he was seated beside a beautiful lady who like him also violated the city’s traffic rules.

Recently, Duterte’s daughter, Sarah Duterte-Carpio, a lawyer and herself former Mayor of the City, was also issued a traffic citation ticket for violating the city’s 30-KPH speed limit.

Sarah, who is described by her father as a “tough girl,” willingly surrendered her driver’s license when flagged down by speed-gun equipped traffic policemen and paid the corresponding fine.

While Duterte is proud of the Davao City Police Force, he looks at the Philippine National Police as a confused organization whose mandate says the force is civilian in nature but whose members are engaged in bloody anti-insurgency campaigns.

“The Constitution says the Philippine National Police is civilian in nature but policemen are made to fight counter-insurgency wars,” Duterte pointed out.

He said there is a need to review the PNP law in the light of his advocacy for Federalism, a change in the country’s political system which could call for the organization of regional police forces for each Federal State.

At the national level, a force similar to the defunct Philippine Constabulary could be organized to assist the regional police forces.

“The Philippine National Police Academy is a big let-down. Many of its products have not lived up to the expectation of the people,’ he said.

“Corruption starts at the recruitment process where applicants are made to cough up huge amounts just so they could be accepted into the police force,” he said.

It is common knowledge that a police applicant is asked to put up at least P150,000 to P300,000 by the recruitment officers before they could be accepted.

“What do we expect from policemen then?,” he asked.

“What we have here is a problem on leadership. When you have top police officials involved in large-scale corruption, how do you expect the lower-ranked policemen to act?,” he asked.

What is important to achieve an effective and corruption-free police force, according to Duterte is the support of government to those enforcing the laws to shield them from temptations.

“Policemen should receive higher pay, maybe P70,000 to P80,000 a month and police generals should have a monthly compensation of at least P500,000 a month,” he said.

He said that policemen, by the nature of their job which empowers them to make arrests, are vulnerable to corruption.

It is because of this that since he became Mayor of Davao City, Duterte has supported the city’s police force providing equipment and additional allowances to policemen including incentives when they score against criminal elements, especially drug pushers, operating in the city.

New police vehicles are provided to the Davao City Police Force and free rice supply are given to members of the force, including army soldiers who help secure the city under the Task Force Davao.

But while good fortunes come to policemen who show dedication to their duty in Davao City, at least five policemen suspected to be involved in drug operations in the City many years ago have turned up dead, victims of assassinations attributed to the mysterious vigilante group called the Davao Death Squad which is linked to Duterte.

Duterte has consistently denied involvement in the deaths of the policemen suspected to be involved with drug operations saying that they could have been victims of a war among those involved in drugs.

The Davao City Mayor shows no sympathy or even pity for erring policemen.

A recent article in the Davao SunStar daily reported that Duterte has publicly warned erring policemen of dire consequences.

The newspaper account said:

“It’s either ikaw or ako. Sorry na lang. Tan-aw nimo ihawunon na ka, sibat ka na. Ayaw ko ninyo sayuna, dili ko pareha sa uban mayor (If you think your end is near, leave. Don’t take me for granted, I am no ordinary mayor),” he said.

‘Duterte said the warning is addressed to all Davao City police, from the city director to its officials and down to its members.

‘The mayor said he received information from the intelligence community that some policemen met up with notorious robbers.

‘The mayor said he does not expect “akyat-bahay” robberies to stop for as long as policemen associate with them.

“Kung mao ning kalakiha, di nata mahuman aning akyat-bahay (If this is how policemen deal with criminals, then we will not see an end to akyat-bahay robberies),” the mayor said.

‘He also raised the warning again against policemen who are involved in illegal drugs.

“Ayaw lagi mo sulod anang droga. Pag pumasok kayo sa droga, ang capital nimo diha imong kahago ug imong kinabuhi. You put your life on the line. Wala ko’y pakilamam ug unsay ranggo nimo. Ayaw ko ninyo binuangi ha (Never engage in illegal drugs. Once you deal with it, your life is at risk. I don’t care about your ranks),” he said.

Answering the hypothetical question “What would you do if you agree to become President?,” Duterte enumerated four things:

1. Reform the recruitment process for police applicants to ensure that not a single officer has the final say on “Who’s in, who’s out.”

2. Reform the promotions process so that officers are promoted through their achievements which will be evaluated by an officers’ promotions board to free policemen from political influence in their career.

3. Review the mandate of the Philippine police to ensure that they are only made to fight criminality and ensure that the citizens are protected safe and not engaged in an insurgency campaign.

4. Upgrade the pay level and benefits of the country’s policemen (including the armed forces members, he said) so that the temptation of corruption is reduced.

“When you have done this, then you have all the reasons to pounce hard on erring policemen,” Duterte said.

(Credits: Photos downloaded from google shows Duterte turning over motorcycles to the police force and visiting wounded policemen.)