PNP assures no return to service for erring cops

MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil on Thursday assured that police officers involved in illegal activities will not return to the service.

In an interview, Marbil said he is not content with merely suspension or demotion for erring officers.

“We make sure that yung mga pulis natin na involve, hindi na po sila makakabalik ng serbisyo at makukulong po sila. Yun po yung gusto natin (We make sure that police involved [in illegal activities] can no longer return to the service and are instead incarcerated. That is what we want),” Marbil said when asked to comment on the involvement of several policemen in various illegal activities.

The most recent incidents involved a police colonel who was arrested for car theft in connection with a rented vehicle that was being sold in Parañaque City, and four police officers arrested for the abduction of four foreigners in Pasay City.

Marbil noted that the difference right now is that commanding officers of policemen involved in illegal activities are also held accountable because they have the responsibility to look after their men.

“We put accountability on the commanders. Yun ginagawa natin, once na-get involved ka, like what we did in SAF (Special Action Force), kasama na yung commander (What we are doing now is that if police officers are found to be involved in illegal activities, their commanders will also be held responsible, just like what we did in the SAF),” he said.

Marbil was referring to the case of two SAF commandos from Mindanao who were arrested in the Ayala-Alabang Village on May 18.

Aside from the two, seven other officers, including their battalion commander, company commander, and platoon leader, are facing administrative cases and have been placed under restrictive custody.

Meanwhile, Marbil commended National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. for awarding the Medalya ng Kagalingan and Medalya ng Kadakilaan to 61 officers involved in various successful operations, including the arrest of Canadian Thomas Gordon O'Quinn tagged as a suspect in the PHP9.6 billion shabu shipment in Batangas province; the arrest of the suspect in the shooting of an elderly family driver in a road rage incident along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Makati City; the arrest of the suspect in the killing of an official of the Land Transportation Office in Quezon City; and the arrest of four cops involved in the abduction of a foreign national in Pasay.

“Gusto natin kapag may ginawa ang pulis natin, mabilis din ang commendation and we are happy ang ginagawa ng RD (regional director) natin. Binibigyan natin sila ng financial award not because yung gusto namin pera but because yung nagastos nila doon sa kanilang operation. So mabilis yung release ng MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) natin for them again to do their job (If they do their jobs, we also want to give them immediate commendations, and we are happy that our RD is doing it. We also provide financial rewards not because we want money, but to reimburse their expenses during the operations. We immediately release the MOOE),” Marbil said on the sidelines of the awarding ceremony held at NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

Nartatez, meanwhile, said there is a need to focus on the reward and punishment in the NCRPO as part of efforts to professionalize the organization.

“As commanders, we are responsible for the accomplishments and failures of a unit. We are responsible for what they do and what they fail to do,” he said.

He noted that more than 500 Metro Manila policemen had been dismissed from the service, while at least 800 more had been punished since July last year as part of the NCRPO’s internal cleansing efforts.

Nartatez said he has already ordered the speedy review of more than 4,000 documents on the administrative cases of other policemen to resolve all pending cases within two to three months. (PNA)