Palace says PNP still honorable, professional ‘by and large’
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is still honorable and professional “by and large” even as a case for murder was filed against two policemen in Ilocos Sur for the killing of a 15-year-old girl who accused them of rape, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Earlier, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the complaints were filed against Staff Sergeants Randy Ramos and Marawi Torda of the San Juan Municipal Police Station in Ilocos Sur.
The victim was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding assailants in Cabugao town on Thursday night, July 2. She has reportedly filed a complaint against Torda for acts of lasciviousness.
But despite this, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Palace believes that the two charged cops were just cases of “bad apples.”
“Ang tingin ko naman po marangal ang PNP by and large. Sila po ay professional, siyempre po sa dami ng mga pulis sa kanilang hanay siguro po may ilan diyan na bad apples,” Roque said in a televised Palace press briefing.
(I think the PNP is honorable by and large. They are professional, of course with the number of cops in their ranks maybe some of them are bad apples so to speak.)
Nonetheless, the Palace official assured impartial investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the incident.
“Kapag pulis po ang akusado, ang NBI po ang nag-iimbestiga para patas po ang imbestigasyon,” Roque said.
(When the police are accused, the NBI will be the one investigating to ensure impartiality.)
“Nag-simula na po ang imbestigasyon at I will personally communicate with OIC NBI Director (Eric) Distor for the details of the investigation. So as you can imagine habang nagiimbestiga po wala po munang detalye na pwedeng mailabas hanggang masampahan po ng kaso ang mga akusado,” he added.
(Investigation is underway and I will personally communicate with OIC NBI Director Distor for the details of the investigation. So as you can imagine while investigating, no information can be released until cases were filed.)
Just recently, nine police officers from Jolo, Sulu figured in a shooting incident that left four army intelligence operatives dead.
The PNP initially reported the incident as a result of a “misencounter” but Army commander Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay rejected the explanation and called it a rubout.
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