MANILA, Philippines – Alumni of the Philippine National Police Academy have urged President Benigno Aquino III to appoint a full-time PNP chief in the wake of the deaths of 44 Special Action Force troopers in Maguindanao last week.
PNPA Alumni Association Inc. board chairperson Tomas Rentoy III said the immediate appointment of a new PNP chief would help restore the unity of command in the PNP, which has been headed in the past few months by officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.
“This is the only way to fix the confused chain of command in the PNP and avoid a repeat of the Mamasapano massacre. This is the only way to march off the police rank-and-file from the inertia that has stymied them since the designation of OICs, or outside the inner circle, to senior positions,” said Rentoy.
In the Mamasapano incident last January 25, six of the 44 slain SAF commandoes were alumni of the PNPA. The PNPA earlier promised financial support to the kin of their slain alumni.
The PNPA alumni has also appealed to lawmakers to pass the needed legislation for an independent truth commission before the Senate and House of Representatives goes on recess in March.
In particular, Rentoy supported proposals to tap retired Supreme Court chief justices and competent individuals to be part of the independent truth commission, which should be open to the public and accredited foreign observers.
“We also urge the House of Representatives and the Senate to hold in abeyance all deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, pending the outcome of the truth commission’s probe. Peace without justice is treason,” part of the statement read.
The PNPA alumni said it has become concerned with the “disproportionate enthusiasm” of some administration lawmakers for the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, while making “token gestures” of calling for justice for the 44 slain policemen.
Rentoy said the lawmakers should heed the public’s call for a through and impartial investigation of the Mamasapano incident, and for the lawmakers to resist pressure from vested interest groups.
“Lest these honorable men and women be seen as lawyering for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the PNPAAAI appeals to their sense of nationalism,” he added.
For the PNPA alumni, some lawmakers’ stubborn determination to railroad the passage of the law “exposes their bias for the MILF and the BIFF, and their utter disregard for the sentiments of a grieving and indignant nation.”
Meanwhile, the PNPA alumni urged the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation to furnish them autopsy results and other forensic examinations conducted so far on the 44 SAF troopers.
The organization pointed out that any delay in the investigation of the Mamasapano massacre would only reinforce the arrogance of the perpetrators, and the public’s skepticism.