FOR many Chinese believers, this year’s Ghost Month which started on August 16 and will end this coming September 14 has been really haunting the Philippine National Police headed by General Benjie Acorda.

It seems that amid its countless accomplishments on the campaign against drugs, other forms of criminality and terror and insurgency, the PNP’s image sadly has been greatly affected by the involvement of a very few of its personnel in corrupt and other unlawful activities.

There is the case of the Cavite cops who were caught on video raiding a retired professors’ house without any search warrant and stealing valuables as they flee; the case of a group of Laguna policemen also caught on video illegally arresting a man on purported drug charges and stealing cash and other valuables from the latter’s house including a bike owned by the son of the accused.

There is the case of a teenager who was mistaken for a murder suspect and shot to death by a group of Malabon policemen who fired their guns at the direction of the victim shortly after he jumped to the river; there is the case of another young boy who was shot and killed by a cop in Rodriguez, Rizal who was in civilian clothes when he tried to accost the victim’s elder brother.

Then there is the case of the dismissed Quezon City cop who assaulted a cyclist in Welcome Rotunda and was seen on video cocking his gun to frighten the unarmed civilian as well as the case of an armed man who posed as an ISAFP agent when he figured in an altercation with a Pasay City cop before he was released without any charges by investigators after he said he will get his gun papers.

CCTV recordings and cell phone videos of these incidents have gone viral, exposed the abuses of some policemen and the penchant of some of their colleagues to tolerate and even ‘cover-up’ their malpractice, and of course, prompt Senate and Congress investigations to the chagrin of majority of the police force who are doing a fine job.

These incidents have also posed so many questions on how the public must react when they innocently witness and act of violence but fear they may incur the ire of the police when they act or testify.

These incidents have also exposed the fact that despite guidelines from the PNP leadership to ensure that Police Operational Procedures would be followed to the hilt principally to protect human right and ensure that the law will be followed, there are still some policemen who would always violate PNP guidelines for reasons known only to them.

This brings to my mind the case of three members of the Q.C. Police District who learned a very hard lesson last year after one of them shot a hapless civilian while he was drunk and his two colleagues simply tried to downplay the incident.

It turned out that the two QCPD Station 10 personnel downplayed the injury sustained by the 22-year old shooting victim as a mere ‘daplis’ and left the hospital where the victim was taken for surgery without gathering information from the doctors.

The two cops reportedly categorized the shooting as a mere ‘physical injury case’ instead of the more serious crime of frustrated murder, in other words, a case of ‘takipan’ involving the two investigators since the person accused is one of them, their follow-up operative in fact.

Then there is the case of another QCPD official who was accused of getting involved in a deadly hit-and-run incident. Some QCPD officers however came under fire after they were accused of trying to ‘cover-up’ for their superior.

While reports of crimes involving police personnel are being played up in the social and mainstream media, I’d like to echo the PNP leadership’s assurance that it will not condone any act of violence. An act of few men really does not reflect and disrupt the entire organization’s mission to protect and serve the public. The PNP leadership has also condemned these incidents and vowed to never tolerate any wrongdoings of their men.

Sad to say, the recent spate of incidents involving some abusive policemen have triggered more speculations that some policemen would do their very best to cover-up for the crimes of their ‘kabaros’ and get away with it unless victims would not be afraid to show their faces to file complaints against erring policemen.

This is really hurting the police force which is trying its very best to attract more public trust and confidence, even launching its Revitalized-Pulis Sa Barangay or R-PSB program in Metro Manila and many parts of the country to ensure that police will be with the ‘common tao’ to hear their grievances and other complaints and make sure they will be properly and effectively addressed with the help of the PNP and other government agencies.

This week, the series of investigations being conducted by the Senate and the House of Representatives have again put the police force on the spotlight. Here is one comment from one ‘Atty. Raynold Villania’ which is circulating in different police social media sites and vider groups.

It goes: pls share with CPNP… (alam ko may number ka niya) From Atty. Raynold B Villania – “Paging all policemen, a call to action

Nakikita niyo ba sa mga congressional hearings sa ngayon kung paano trina-trato ang mga pulis? Hindi ba kayo nahihiya sa propesyon niyo? Hindi ba kayo nanlillit, lalong lalo na yung mga pulis na nandoon sa Kongreso.”

“Kung hindi, nakakahiya kayo. Manhid kayo! You are not proud of the uniform and your profession. And you have forgotten the sacrifices of our men for the country. Sa ibang bansa, gaya ng Amerika, hindi naman ganyan ang pag-trato sa mga resource persons. Sa atin din, hindi naman ganyan ang trato sa mga hindi pulis na inimbitahan sa Kongreso. “

“Bakit sa pulis ganyan na lang ang pagtrato? Saan na ba ang bayaning pulis? Saan na ba ang mga sakripisyong ginawa na mga pulis at PNP bilang isang organisasyon. Wala na lang ba ang mga iyon? Ganyan na lang ba ang PNP, walang imik at submissive?”

“Sana mag-imbita rin sila ng isang kawal, at parehong treatment ang ibigay. Iba ang Armed Forces of the Philippines pagdating sa pagprotekta sa kanilang hanay at sa kanilang organisasyon. Siguradong magre-react ang AFP.

“Pag-inimbitahan ang pulis sa Kongreso, hindi naman nawawala ang kanyang karapatan sa ilalim ng batas, bilang isang mamamayan. Hindi rason na porke pulis na tahimik at masunurin, hindi na puwedeng mag-invoke ng kaniyang karapatan. At ang pag-invoke ng karapatan ay hindi nangangahulugan ng pagiging matigas ang ulo.”

“May mga pagkakamali ang pulis, at totoo naman yan. May mga tarantado rin gaya ng ibang kawani sa ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno. Kung nagkamali man ang pulis sa hearing, pagalitan, in such an honorable and dignifid manner, kaya nga mga honorables ang titulo nila.”

“Ang mga mambabatas sa panahon ng hearing ay parang mga huwes. Pero pumasok ka ng korte, hindi mo makikita ang huwes na nambabatos ng akusado o abogado. Bawal yan sa Korte Suprema.

Dapat nilang tandaan na ang pulis na nababastos ay hindi lang pambabastos sa pagkatao niya kundi sa buong organisasyon. Ikulong ang pulis kung kailangan, sibakin sa serbisyo, kunin ang benipisyo, lahat lahat na, pero huwag alisan ng DANGAL. Dahil sa maraming pulis, iyan lang ang maipagmamalaki nila sa kanilang pamilya at sa publiko.

Paging PNP hierarchy under Gen. Benjamin Acorda, wala ba kayong gagawin dyan?”

Said post has attracted a number of reactions including this one:

“Ikalat sa Mas nakakahiya ka atty villania kasi di mo nakikita ang kalahatan ng sitwasyon. Bakit pulis ang pinagsasabihan mo. Ano gusto mo? Labanan namin ang senado at kongreso. Gumawa ka na rin naman ng napakahabang komento, sana patungkol na lang sa mga Senador at kongresista ang pinagsasabi mo.”

“ Sila ang dapat mo pag sabihan at hindi kaming mga pulis. Dumaan kami sa training kaya naman kaya naming sikmurain ang ganung treatment sa amin. Alam namin ang maximum tolerance na kakaunti sa hanay nyo ang may ganung katangian.”

Hindi kami nahihiya sapagkat alam namin na ang mga honorable ang nagiging kahiya hiya sa kanilang actuations na parang hindi nakapag aral at hindi naturuan ng magulang sa kagandahang asal. Hindi rin kami manhid ngunit kaya namin kontrolin ang aming mga damdamin. Isip ka na lang ng ibang paraan kung paano ka sumikat.