President Digong’s order to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to cleanse the force of rogue members was received with jubilation by the citizenry as well as foreigners doing business in the country.
“Mon, have you heard the news on radio? They will cleanse the PNP of kidnappers, robbers, car thieves, drug pushers and murderers. Yehey!” a Chinese-Filipino friend who was a kidnap victim shouted over the phone.
“If the order came from Duterte, then the country should be happy because when he gives an order, he means it,” said Arnold Belen, a janitor and avid Duterte supporter.
A Singaporean friend who owns a call center said: “This looks like a positive first step.”
Ridding the PNP of scumbags will not succeed if Mr. Duterte depends on administrative bodies—like the PNP Internal Affairs and National Police Commission (Napolcom)—to do the job because these agencies are full of scalawags themselves.
The Napolcom, for example, is fast in reinstating dismissed policemen but slow in resolving administrative cases filed against rogue cops.
The courts are of little help either as they take so many years to decide on criminal cases involving lawmen.
For instance, a drunken cop who shot dead an unarmed teenager inside a Pasig City bar 15 years ago has died of cancer while the murder case slapped against him was still pending in court.
The President might want to form a composite group of policemen and soldiers who are young and idealistic to neutralize “with extreme prejudice” cops involved in heinous crimes or linked to criminal syndicates.
If the police are quick to dispose of notorious criminals and drug pushers without the benefit of trial, why can’t they do the same to their rogue colleagues?
These cops are far worse compared to ordinary criminals because they violate their sworn duty “to serve and protect.”
Therefore, policemen who kill, kidnap, rob and rape should be sent to kingdom come.
Never mind what human rights advocates and Western countries will say about the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) of rogue policemen since the Duterte administration has been engaged in the EJKs of suspected criminals and drug pushers, anyway.
What matters is that the citizenry approves of it.
Vox populi est suprema lex. The voice of the people is the supreme law.
The policemen caught on a security camera raiding, “planting” drugs, stealing and beating up employees of what looked like a call center office have been identified as:
Senior Insp. Jansky Andrew Jaafar, SPO2 Noel de Guzman, SPO2 Noel Zenarosa, PO3 Allan Poe Aragon, PO3 Victorino Oreiro, PO3 Jason Taguba, PO3 Richard Guillermo, PO2 Alexander Pancho and PO1 Jayarr Macaraeg.
They were with the National Capital Region Police Office Regional Intelligence Division’s Special Operations Task Group.
These cops should be the first to go, along with Supt. Rafael Dumlao and SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, if Mr. Duterte wants to carry out in earnest his purge within the PNP.
If those above-named cops become victims of EJKs, the public will rejoice. Let’s face it, the citizenry is crying out for blood—the blood of rogue cops—this time.