MANILA, Philippines – Have they no mercy and compassion?
Disgruntled policemen took to social media to air their gripes over the P2,400 allowance they were supposed to receive for securing Pope Francis’ visit to the country.
While it was a policeman from the Police Security and Protection Group in Camp Crame who alleged that he did not receive the allowance in full, more cops have surfaced to complain that they too have only been given part of the allowance.
In the Facebook group “Police Digest sa FB,” members of the Philippine National Police from regions and units all over the country revealed that they, too, did not get the complete stipend.
“They have no mercy and compassion” was the lament of one netizen, referring to Pope Francis’ message during his pastoral visit to the country.
Another policeman said: “Be it clear to those concerned that the personnel are not after the amount but the honesty of the officials entrusted with the money. By the lies and corruption done, they have done wrong against the organization’s philosophy of justice, the vision of being a credible police service.”
Earlier, the PNP officer-in-charge, Dep. Dir. Gen. Leonardo Espina ordered an investigation into the alleged discrepancy in allowances for policemen deployed for security duties during the papal visit.
This was after a policeman assigned to the PSPG accused his superior of not giving him the full P2,400 allowance, only getting P200 and P700 on the first two days of the papal visit.
Mayor explained that the allowance was intended as a meal stipend for policemen deployed to secure the papal visit.
“It was supposed to be given to them so that they can buy their own food. But other commanders, thinking that it might be difficult to buy food while on the field because of the situation, had meals prepared and sent to their personnel,” the PNP spokesperson said.
Policemen were not supposed to receive both meals and an allowance at the same time, he explained.
Asked if all commanders would be summoned to explain, Mayor said the investigation would involve only specific complaints pertaining to certain units.
“Admittedly, it might be difficult to account for it if the allowance was given away in kind, through packed meals. But the allowance was really intended for the policemen’s meals,” he added.
The PNP deployed more than 28,000 policemen to the historic visit, which lasted for four days.
Some policemen deployed for the papal visit’s security detail were unaware that they were supposed to receive an allowance, and that they only learned of it after the controversy broke out.
Another source said other police units received allowances but not the full amount, while other units only got packed meals that were sometimes not enough.
In some instances, the packed meals sent to some deployed policemen were spoiled or were about to spoil, but policemen ate them anyway because they had no other choice.
In the Facebook group “Police Digest sa FB,” PNP personnel took to social media to air their gripes.
In the National Capital Region Police Office, some policemen claiming to be assigned to the Northern Police District, Southern Police District, Manila Police District, Eastern Police District and Quezon City Police District said they did not receive their full allowances, or nothing at all.
Some policemen were fortunate that their mother units sent them packed meals, while other units allegedly did not send their troops packed meals.
This complaint was shared even by policemen from the provinces who were sent to Metro Manila as part of augmentation forces.
PNP personnel assigned to the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Davao and Caraga made similar claims, that they received only part of the allowance while others got nothing at all.
Some policemen’s “allowances” ranged from P300 to P800, while a policeman from Pasay City claimed getting only P120. Another from the EPD claimed getting P760, while one from Taguig City said he got P750, which was supposedly from the city government.
A policeman from the Ilocos region complained that the packed meals were tasteless chicken and pork meals.
“If you complain, we were told that we are lucky we are given food to eat. But it turns out that we are supposed to get allowances,” he said on Facebook.
Despite being short-changed, thousands of policemen still turned out for their security duties for the papal duties, saying it was part of their duty.
“Other units are lucky because they got some amount, we from the Ilocos region did not get a single peso. But it’s okay, we still comply and comply with the orders given to us,” a policeman said.