I have spoken with many avid readers of this column including retired and active officers, both from the Philippine Military Academy and the PNP Academy regarding the issues that have been hounding the 228,000-strong police force specifically the involvement of some of its personnel in illegal drug activities.

I would say they were right in their observation that the PNP now headed by General Benjie Acorda, has been in the hot seat for the past few weeks due to the alleged involvement of some of its high-ranking officials in illegal drugs, all of which are now being investigated by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Actually, in no other time in recent history has the police organization been placed in the center of controversy. For one thing, the main bone of contention which is illegal drugs, has serious impact and far-reaching implications in Philippine society.

No less than my friend, former PNP chief, General Jun Azurin and several high-ranking officers and men were implicated by Department of Interior and Local Government or DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos in an alleged ‘cover-up’ of the pilferage of a huge volume of shabu seized by the PNP Drug Enforcement Group in an anti-narcotics operation in Manila last October.

The nagging question now is, “What is happening to our country General?” which was immortalized in the words of the late Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez when he survived an ambush right in the country’s capital, Quezon City in 1982. The revered former VP from Mindanao posed the question to then Q.C. police chief, Gen. Tomas Karingal who himself was assassinated by a hit squad from the New People’s Army’s Alex Boncayao Brigade in 1984.

Nearly 41 years after VP Pelaez uttered the rhetorical question, it has been repeated time and again by others as a plea against the abuse of power and the reign of lawlessness. Amid the controversy that has rocked the police force in the aftermath of the October 2022 operation which netted 990 kilograms of shabu but likewise led in the discovery of a massive drug pilferage by some officers, the question is again being repeated. “What is happening to our country General?

If the government fails to catch and prosecute the real culprits in this particular case, indeed, we might wake up in the near future as the drug trade capital in this part of the world, just like Colombia.

There is also another question: Where did we fail? The strategy “Supply Reduction and Demand Reduction” does not seem to work because if we believe intelligence reports, it is some rogue members of the police force themselves, the law-enforcers, the arresting officers, the lawmen in charge of supply reduction who are the very ones engaged in the supply distribution.

Some retired and active PNP chiefs and other well-meaning officers have been one in saying that the credibility of the police organization is being eroded slowly and it will take Gen. Acorda and his men more time to regain the complete trust and confidence of the people while going seriously after the real misfits and scalawags.

It’s heartening to note however that an OCTA Research survey showed that 80 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with the police force’s performance in maintaining peace and order in the country. The Tugon ng Masa Survey conducted by OCTA Research showed that 8 out of 10 Filipinos or 80 percent of those surveyed nationwide trust the PNP while nearly 8 out of 10 or 79 percent expressed satisfaction with the police performance. It’s a good start for Gen. Acorda’s leadership i would say.

However, it will really need a Solomonic solution to stop the trend, the perceived involvement of rogue cops in illicit drug activities ranging from so-called ‘bangketa/hulidap,’ recycling, extortion and pilferage activities, otherwise, this will have a serious implication on the morale of the men and women in the police organization which might have a negative impact on their operational performance.

Some retired and active generals suggested to me that in the light of the present situation, there is a need for the present administration to review its organization particularly the DILG Leadership which in corporate terminology, is the Top Management.

One Peemayer told me that the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government or SILG performs the dual task of managing the affairs of two (2) vital sectors of government- 1) the Interior Sector composed of the PNP, The Jail Service and the Bureau of Fire Protection, and 2) the Local Government Sector comprising the Provincial, the City and the Municipal government units.

But based on historical antecedents, the SILG’s attention is more focused on the PNP, the now retired official who requested anonymity told me.. The Local Government sector having been delegated the bulk of governance, does not need so much attention from the SILG unlike the PNP wherein more often than not, incidents happen that usually require the SILG’s presence on the ground, he explained.

But here’s the point: Unlike the Secretary of National Defense who is usually a former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff or a retired general, the DILG has never had an ex-CPNP as Secretary.

Several active and retired high-ranking cop stold me that it is high time that President Bongbong Marcos Jr. try a DILG secretary who comes from the ranks, one who understands the culture of the PNP organization, and one who can perhaps anticipate a crisis situation because of his long years of experience inside the organization.

This might be the missing link in solving the crisis of leadership in the PNP, one official told me over a cup of coffee.

Currently, the PNP is composed of nearly 228,000 Uniformed and Non-Uniformed Personnel administered by the Civil Service Commission and under the administrative and operational control and supervision by the National Police Commission.

It is unique in itself because unlike other police forces worldwide, it is under the “command, control, supervision ” of two (2) national agencies – the CSC and the NAPOLCOM.

Under Republic Act 8551 that created the DILG, and organized the PNP as a bureau, the others being the Jail Service and BFP, the PNP’s forerunner was the Philippine Constabulary, a major service or branch of the AFP under the Department of National Defense (DND). Almost 99.9 percent of Philippine Constabulary soldiers transferred or were absorbed by the PNP. Thus, it was a case of “reinventing-the-wheel”, from the PC to the PNP.

The NAPOLCOM is mandated by the Philippine Constitution to “operationally and administratively control the PNP”. It is under the DILG and serves as a policy-making body headed by a Commissioner and composed of 5 members. The SILG sits as a Chairperson in concurrent capacity.

The SILG is a political appointee of the President. Since the creation of the PNP, only the late Senator-turned DILG Secretary Robert ‘Bobby’ Barbers—a friend-basketball buddy when he was still with the then Western Police District and the late Manila Mayor, Senator and General Alfredo ‘Fred’ Lim– came from the police ranks.

Bobby Barbers was a sitting congressman when he was plucked out of Congress by then President Fidel V. Ramos to become the SILG. Sec. Barbers was the DILG chief from April 1996 to February 1998 while Mayor Lim, a very good friend of my late Boss who has been described as an icon of Philippine sports writing, Sir Gus Villanueva, held the post from January 2000 to January 2001.

Two others are former AFP chiefs namely the late Gen. Angelo ‘Angie’ Reyes who became the DILG chief from July 2004 to February 2006 and Sec. Ed Año, now the National Security Adviser who held the top DILG post from November 2018 to June 2022.

I have been covering the police force, dating back to the last few years of the PC/INP and until the establishment of the PNP in 1991 up to present. Thus, I already had the good opportunity to really observe at close range the last PC/INP chief who became the 1st PNP chief, the late Gen. Cesar ‘Hari-Hari’ Nazareno and the others who succeeded him.

Most of them–two became Senators-Generals Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson and Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa–had served with dedication and with nothing in their hearts and minds but the interest of the organization. The 28th PNP chief, Gen. Azurin is also expected to be cleared of the charges of cover-up as he was the one who started the full-blast investigation at all, with no less than his successor, Gen. Acorda, the former PNP Director for Intelligence silently involved in the probe.

Others are former Senator Mar Roxas, the late NBI Director Epimaco Velasco, the late Sec. Jesse Robredo, former President Erap Estrada from June 1998 to April 1999, Ronnie Puno who was DILG chief of then President Erap from April 1999 to January 2000 and again, the DILG Secretary of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from April 2006 to June 2010 and Joey Lina from January 2001 to July 2004.

I have no beef with Sec. Abalos, a hardworking DILG chief–the 1st DILG Secretary under the year-old Marcos presidency– and from Day 1 of his appointment has been writing volume of stories about his plans and programs specifically his BIDA or Buhay ay Ingatan, Droga ay Iwasan program, his partnership with Justice Sec. Boying Remulla to help train more police investigators and improve the PNP’s conviction rate, his solid effort to reform the police force.

However, there has been an unsolicited advice to PBBM this time: Why not try former PNP Chiefs for a DILG Secretary next time. Gen. Acorda is the 29th top cop so it means that PBBM, as the Commander-in-Chief has a very deep bench to select from. First and foremost questions that can be answered by members of the police force are the following: what are the qualities of the DILG chief? Who is the ideal SILG? What is the state of the DILG as far as the PNP organization is concerned?