‘Ninja cops’ issue draws mixed reactions in northern Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –– The “ninja cops” controversy hounding the Philippine National Police (PNP), including its chief, General Oscar Albayalde, has elicited mixed reactions among northern Mindanao’s police force.
City police spokesperson Major Evan Viñas said the PNP’s rank and file felt “low” after Albayalde’s name was dragged into the controversy that arose from a bungled drug raid in Pampanga in 2013.
Viñas said it was “normal” for the rank and file to feel that way given that the country’s top policeman figured in the narrative.
“But it will not affect our daily routine in dispensing public services,” Viñas assured.
“We’re told by our superior officers not to be onion-skinned in the ongoing Senate inquiry wherein [Albayalde] was implicated in the issue. We are steadfast in doing our primary task as law enforcers,” he said.
He has also encouraged his fellow law enforcers not to be affected by the issue.
Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, regional police spokesperson, said the morale among the region’s police force was “still high.”
He said PNP Region 10 “will remain steadfast in serving the people and [will] never be affected by the issue since it [does] not represent the whole organization and it only involved a few PNP personnel.”
He appealed to the public not to make premature conclusions about the PNP which could erode their trust and confidence in the police.
“I do not think the morale of the entire PNP is affected,” said Lt. Col. Surki Sereñas, former PNP-10 information officer and now police chief of Valencia City in Bukidnon.
“The PNP has reached that organizational maturity where personal issues are detached from the entire organization. It may have affected community perception but the trust and confidence are intact, otherwise, we won’t be seeing people seeking police assistance,” Sereñas explained.
“The PNP has kept its mandate,” he added./lzb
