Roxas orders PNP inventory to weed out ‘one culprit at a time’

MANILA, Philippines — Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has ordered a full inventory of crimes that have been committed by members of the Philippine National Police and vowed no let-up in weeding out “one culprit at a time”.

“One culprit at a time, one suspect a time. Hindi natin sila tatantanan. Wala tayong sisinuhin. Kung may ginawa silang pagkakasala, hahabulin ka ng PNP,” Roxas said in a press conference Wednesday.

[One culprit at a time, one suspect a time. There will be no let-up. We will not protect anyone. If they have committed a crime, the PNP will go after them.]

Roxas directed National Police Commission (Napolcom) Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Eduardo U. Escueta to conduct the inventory aimed at investigating the gravity of the crimes committed and whether the accused cop was a first time offender or a repeat offender.

Roxas’ directive stemmed from the alleged involvement of policemen in several criminal activities that included the P2 million kidnap and robbery incident last week at the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa), the murders of car racer Enzo Pastor and Chief Inspector Roderick Medrano.

“Pinagkakatiwalaan natin sila (policemen) dahil may uniporme, baril, chapa at lahat ng kagamitan. Eh kung masama ang balak nila, dehado talaga ang inonsenteng sibilyan,” Roxas said.

(We trust them because of their uniform, gun, badge and all their belongings. But if their intentions are bad, then pity the innocent civilians.)

However, Roxas said he could not say whether the problem was rooted in the police culture or the poor system of the institution itself.

“I have my own theories but it is better to study them first. We can’t say this is because of a single cause only,” he said.

The secretary added, however, that it might be with the system because two policemen in the Edsa incident were reinstated by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) despite having criminal records.

A police official, who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to media, told INQUIRER.net that Senior Police Officer 1 Rameil Hachero and Police Officer 2 Jonathan Rodriguez, two cops linked to the Edsa robbery, were charged by Napolcom in a similar modus operandi in November 2011.

But Roxas said the greatest deterrent for “bad eggs” in the police force was the fact that their colleagues would not protect them and tolerate their misdeeds.

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