Restore trust, PNPA grads told   

GRADUATION President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulates cadet Seal Bantag during the commencement rites of the Philippine National Police Academy on Friday, March 10, 2023. In the middle is the cadet’s father, former jails chief Gerald Bantag. —Malacañang photo

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday told fresh graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “to be catalysts for restoring public trust” in law enforcers by being just and morally upright.

“I also ask you to be catalysts for restoring public trust in the [PNP], and to be recognized as protectors and defenders of peace, order and human rights,” the President told the 208 graduates.

“As the citizen’s peacekeeping force, be just, be morally upright, and commit yourself to protecting and defending the rights of our people notwithstanding the current challenges faced by the PNP organization,” he said.

He also urged the graduates to be protectors and defenders of peace, order and human rights and told them to fulfill their duties and responsibilities “with fairness and impartiality, regardless of status in society.”

“Public service must be devoid of prejudice, of favoritism or discrimination, for all Filipinos are entitled to equal rights and opportunities,” he said.

READ: BBM to PNPA graduates: Public service must be impartial

Attended by ex-BuCor chief

Aside from the PNP, the academy’s graduates are also assigned as officers of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Aside from the graduates, the audience included the cadets’ families, including former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag, an alumni of the academy who is now accused of murdering last year journalist Percy Lapid and New Bilibid Prison inmate Cristito “Jun Villamor” Palaña. The case is pending.

READ: Prosecutors wrap up probe on murder raps vs Bantag

READ: Bantag accuses Remulla of orchestrating Lapid’s murder, files raps

Bantag was also accused last month of plunder, malversation, falsification and graft related to construction projects in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan and the Leyte Regional Prison, totaling about P900 million.

READ: Plunder, graft, malversation raps filed vs suspended BuCor chief Bantag, 6 others

The former BuCor chief, who graduated from the PNPA in 1996, attended the commencement ceremony at the PNPA’s Camp Castañeda campus in Silang, Cavite, to witness the graduation of his son, Seal Bantag, who is also a member of the “Masidtalak” Class 2023.

The Inquirer did not see whether the President spoke or shook hands with the former jails chief.

Nonetheless, Marcos thanked members of the PNP, BJMP, and BFP for their service during the pandemic.

“With your help, we were able to reach out to our people in far-flung areas and remote communities to provide them with the assistance and service that they needed to overcome the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“Let me recognize your great efforts and sacrifices to address crimes, eradicate illegal drugs and other lawless elements in our country,” he added.

He assured law enforcers of the administration’s support to provide more responsive, efficient and effective services to our people.

Out of the 208 graduates, 186 joined the PNP, 11 the BJMP, and 11 the BFP.

Police Cadet Francis De Leon Geneta, who hails from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, was the class valedictorian.

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