QC cop gets medal for act of kindness

PO2 Dondon Villa Corteza Sultan: The law enforcer who stopped to help a total stranger. PHOTO TAKEN FROM ARMIN M. PUNZALAN’S FACEBOOK PAGE

A Quezon City policeman received a citation on Monday, thanks to an act of kindness he performed for a stranger who later posted his experience on a social networking site.

No less than National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Leonardo Espina pinned the Medalya ng Papuri (Commendation Medal) on PO2 Dondon Villa Corteza Sultan of the La Loma police station during the flag-raising ceremony at the NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

The post about Sultan has attracted quite a bit of attention among Facebook users in the past few days after it was posted on July 4 by Quezon City resident and motorist Armin M. Punzalan.

In his Facebook post titled “Meron pa rin pala[ng] matino[ng] pulis (So there are still good cops),” Punzalan expressed his gratitude to Sultan who stopped and patiently assisted him when the latter’s car broke down on Quezon Avenue last month.

Punzalan narrated that after one of his front tires fell off the hub, a policeman came and helped him fix his car.

The law enforcer who turned out to be Sultan also told off the personnel of a tow truck company that wanted to take the vehicle away and even accompanied Punzalan to a spare parts shop when he had to buy replacement parts.

Punzalan said in his post that after his car was fixed, he tried to give Sultan P1,000 out of gratitude but the policeman refused and told him: “It’s our job to help people.”

“I thought policemen like that were an endangered species, but apparently, they’re still around,” Punzalan went on to say.

He added: “I salute you Police Officer Sultan” as he added a picture of the smiling policeman.

Sultan told NCRPO officials that the incident happened on the afternoon of June 18 as he was driving his motorcycle on his way to work at the La Loma police station.

To date, Punzalan’s post has been shared more than 4,500 times.

“We have sworn to protect the public. If we follow our oath, we will never go wrong. We thank the public for giving recognition to PO2 Sultan. We will continue to serve without asking for anything,” Espina said in a statement.

“PO2 Sultan should be emulated. I know that given the chance to do what he did, you would too, to bring the police force closer to the hearts of the public,” Espina told his men at Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.

NCRPO records showed that Sultan, 28, a resident of Barangay (village) Payatas-A in Quezon City, joined the police force in June 2008.

He is no stranger to awards. He was given the Medalya ng Papuri twice in his first year as a policeman. In April last year, he also received the Medalya ng Paglilingkod sa Luzon.

Espina, since assuming his post as NCRPO director in September last year, has given out 16,826 commendation medals.