SALUTING THE CHIEFS. Philippine National Police Director General Raul Bacalzo (left) and his successor, Nicanor Bartolome, salute each other in front of the commander in chief during Friday’s turnover of command at Camp Crame. EDWIN BACASMAS
In five words President Benigno Aquino III on Friday summed up his marching orders to new Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Nicanor Bartolome: “Don’t let our bosses down.”
Mr. Aquino was referring to the Filipino people whom he called “my Boss” in his inaugural speech in June last year.
Accepting the symbolic command saber from the President, Bartolome in turn promised to exorcise the specter of corruption from the PNP, keep criminals off the streets and put a policeman in every barangay (village).
At one point, moved by the sight of five retired constables who had fought with him in battles with communist rebels and criminals while they were young soldiers stationed in Mindanao, Bartolome broke down.
Paying tribute to his five comrades as he wiped away the tears, the 54-year-old Bartolome said: “They were courageous… true servants of the nation. If not for them, I would not be here.”
Speaking at the turnover ceremony in Camp Crame, Mr. Aquino exhorted Bartolome to make it “a personal advocacy to more aggressively pursue kidnappers, carnappers and other criminal elements of our society.”
The President urged Bartolome to continue what retired PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo had done, and this was “to spread professionalism, integrity and valor among the ranks of the police.”
Performance is key
Malacañang defended Bartolome’s appointment to the PNP helm by saying his performance and track record spoke for themselves.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte denied aspersions that the President picked Bartolome, bypassing more senior officers, because he came from the same province as Mr. Aquino—Tarlac—or because of the reported “adoption” of the President’s sisters as members of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1980, to which Bartolome belongs.
Valte said Bartolome’s performance was the key factor in Mr. Aquino’s decision to promote him as PNP chief.
Director Samuel Pagdilao, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, was said to be Bartolome’s closest rival for the post. Pagdilao belongs to PMA Class of 1979.
“It’s really also the performance. It’s really all centered on that,” Valte told reporters.
Tribute to Bacalzo
Asked about the seniority issue, Valte said: “Certainly it was not a factor and there was also the information that it was the class of General Bartolome who adopted the sisters. There’s no such thing. The service that General Bartolome has rendered will speak for itself.”
Bartolome’s takeover of the PNP came on the heels of a new scandal involving the purchase by the police of secondhand helicopters that had been passed off as brand-new. The purchase occurred in 2009 and the helicopters were supposedly owned by then First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
The mess is still under investigation.
Mr. Aquino lauded Bacalzo for taking on the reins of the PNP under difficult circumstances less than a year ago.
“If you will remember, he was appointed at a time when the issues about the tragedy that happened at Quirino Grandstand were in the headlines, and when different groups were criticizing the police left and right,” Mr. Aquino said, referring to the Rizal Park hostage crisis in which the PNP was accused of bungling their job.
“But I had no doubt in the capability of General Bacalzo to pursue the reforms we wanted. We trusted in his courage, discipline and professionalism,” Mr. Aquino said.
Three stars
Mr. Aquino cited Bacalzo for improving police morale by upgrading their equipment and capabilities.
But the President said there were matters that couldn’t ever be measured by statistics.
He said that under Bacalzo’s leadership, “we are doing away with the image of abuse and corruption in the police.”
Despite his promotion to PNP chief, Bartolome will remain for the time being a three-star deputy director general. His promotion to four-star director general will take effect on Bacalzo’s retirement on September 15 when he turns 56. Under the law, only one PNP officer should have four stars.
Focus on governance
Paying tribute to his five retired comrades, Bartolome said they reminded him of his past struggles and the journey he had taken to be where he was now.
Bartolome named the five as Master Sergeants Jacinto Ballesteros, Alfredo Calungsad, Angel Biongan, Fernandez and Silva.
He only referred to their last names. The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried but failed to get the first names of Silva and Fernandez. Public information officers could not supply them and Bartolome did not reply to messages when asked.
In his speech, Bartolome outlined his plans to steer the 110-year-old PNP in the next 18 months, with focus on sustaining the reform programs of his predecessors.
“Our transformation now focuses on governance,” said Bartolome, who served for many years as the PNP spokesperson.
“We shall set targets that measure reform programs through a road map and a score card. I will order a periodic performance audit to determine who are at par with the job and who fall short of the expected work results,” he said.
Peaceful barangays
Bartolome pledged to deploy at least one police officer to each barangay.
“He will act as a conduit between the community and each unit. With the guidance of the chief of police, he will plan and execute public safety services in cooperation with barangay officials,” he said.
“I believe that one criminal off the streets means citizens will sleep soundly. I therefore order a sustained accounting of wanted persons. Service of warrants must be given attention,” he said.
He pledged to remove scalawags and misfits.
“I do not hesitate to fire erring personnel,” he said, citing his dismissal of 70 persons when he was still director of the National Capital Region Police Office.
“My heart bled… but I had to do it if only to retain a high degree of morality and professionalism,” he said.
Right choice
To ensure transparency and accountability, Bartolome said the PNP’s procurement system and financial management would be made transparent.
“Discipline will remain a central focus of my leadership. We will be quick in giving rewards to deserving personnel and acknowledge their good deeds, but we will also be strict in punishing misfits and the undisciplined,” he said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who attended the turnover, said the President made the right choice in picking Bartolome.
“I have followed his career, and if you speak of professionalism, integrity and proficiency, he has all these things,” Lacson said.
Ballesteros, one of the five ex-constables Bartolome honored, said their company went through a lot together.
“Those were difficult times. That’s why he teared up when he mentioned our names,” he said.
“We fought against NPAs (New People’s Army), syndicated crimes, drugs also… We had friends who died,” Ballesteros said.
Bartolome was then their superior officer, he said. “We advised him not to be so impulsive or we might bite more than we could chew.”
First posted 11:20 pm | Friday, September 9th, 2011