We were able to talk to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas regarding the recent spate of crimes perpetrated by policemen on our show Kasangga Mo Ang Langit on DWIZ 882khz.
Caught on camera: A kidnapping in broad daylight in EDSA. Later on, it was discovered those involved were policemen.
IMMEDIATE ACTION
Regarding the incident of kidnapping that occurred in broad daylight along EDSA, Sec. Mar said that they are currently on an all-out manhunt for the perpetrators of the crime that are still at large. From YouTube videos, photos, evidence, and testimonies, they were able to figure out that the involved individuals were in fact members of the police force.
“Currently, eight out of the 11 suspects are now custody. Rest assured that we are using all the resources at our disposal to get to the bottom of this crime regardless of whether you’re a civilian, a policeman, or a government official,” he said.
Six of the suspects surrendered and two of them were arrested. Those arrested are locked up in Mandaluyong along with the Chief Inspector who is the highest ranking official involved in this incident. The others are in restricted custody in Camp Karingal in Quezon City and Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
At present, the Jane Doe that has been identified as a suspect is now included in the manhunt. Her name has already been discovered and made known to the Philipine National Police (PNP). Also included in the manhunt are Senior Insp. Oliver Villanueva who was driving the black Fortuner and Insp. Marco Polo Estera who has been connected to the Honda Civic that blocked the victim’s car.
REVOLVING DOOR
According to various sources, it has become a practice for some unscrupulous members of the force to use NAPOLCOM as a revolving door. “This means that some crooked cops use the process to dribble their cases for suspension and dismissal so that it is processed for a longer time and eventually forgotten. As a result, they get to go back into the force,” he said.
Sec. Mar said that the process is currently under review to see to it that the problem scalawags do not find their way back into the PNP.
EXAMPLE
An example of the police force enforcing discipline unto itself is Inspector Marantan. “Last year, this officer was arrested and charges were filed against him. This is part of our anti-criminality campaign,” Sec. Roxas said.
However, Sec. Mar clarified that their primary role is to investigate and not judge. He especially brought this up when one of the suspects, Senior Insp. Allan Emlano, said that he couldn’t have been the driver of one of the vehicles because he couldn’t even drive.
“They can explain their alibis when they get to court. We as investigators merely follow the evidence,” he said.
POLICE AGAIN
I also mentioned to the Secretary an event that was recently witnessed by one of our reporters in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija. According to him, when an incident of shooting by a riding-in-tandem occured, they could not get the police to come out immediately. Given that the incident happened only a few steps away from the station, the people immediately went to the police station to ask for help. However, none of the known 7 policemen assigned to the area were there to respond to the clamor for assistance.
I asked Sec. Mar, “Could they be fired if they fail to give a good reason for their absence?”
The secretary then asked for our reporter’s tape that could be used as evidence. “Yes. If the evidence we gather proves that they were negligent, then we can act against them,” he said.
LIFESTYLE CHECK
In light of recent events, Sec. Mar also gave the order for all PNP officials to undergo lifestyle checks.
“We are coordinating with BIR Commissioner Kim Henares to obtain a copy of the guidelines for a lifestyle check. So instead of starting from scratch and taking a lot of time, we want to just take the guidelines from an agency that has already been conducting lifestyle checks,” he said.
DOUBLE MORTAL SIN
Secretary Roxas said that he hopes that the police force will see the directive as a means to cleanse their ranks and prove that not all cops are crooked. “Even if only 1 percent are crooked and the police force is 150,000-strong, then that’s still 1,500 bad cops,” he said.
He also emphasized the need to have a police force that is free from wrongdoings given that a special responsibility to protect the people from criminals is given to them. “We train them, give them weapons, give them so much power, it is only fair that they use it for good. Otherwise, if they themselves commit the crimes they should be defending us against then that seems like a double mortal sin, doesn’t it?” he said.
“We should hold them to a higher standard of integrity,” he concluded.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
“It’s a lot of crooked cops out there. They manipulate the system.” — Ludacris
“There’s a difference between criminals and crooks. Crooks steal. Criminals blow some guy’s brains out.” — Ronald Biggs