204 cases filed vs erring cops in C. Luzon

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—The number of policemen facing administrative and criminal cases in Central Luzon is increasing, with 204 cases filed since 2013, records showed.

At least 18 commissioned officers and 116 non-commissioned officers have been slapped with administrative cases since January this year, according to information gathered from the disciplinary law and order section of the regional police’s personnel and human resource development division here.

Criminal cases filed against policemen in the region from January to September this year have reached 38, more than the 32 cases recorded last year.

These figures do not include cases against personnel belonging to regional support groups, like the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) and Highway Patrol Group, a source from the regional police said.

These units are not under the administrative jurisdiction of the regional police, including their deployment to the provinces.

Recent cases involved more rookie policemen, incident reports showed.

Six members of the Mobile Patrol Unit in Angeles City were accused of alleged robbery and extortion by two Holy Angel University teachers on Sept. 2.

Two policemen first demanded P20,000 from the teachers in exchange for dropping unspecified charges. The next day, the CIDU and Angeles City policemen entrapped the two policemen and their four colleagues, who were relieved and reassigned to the city personnel holding and accounting unit.

A member of the Olongapo City police and two suspects tried to abduct two persons in separate incidents on Aug. 4 using a Toyota Vios car.

Two members of the Angeles City police were arrested on July 28 in the act of robbing an employee remitting cash at Barangay Ninoy Aquino. Their two civilian cohorts were killed in a shootout.

A member of the Regional Public Safety Battalion was arrested on July 11 after he and three accomplices robbed a British national and took the latter’s car in Porac town, Pampanga province.

In April, six officials and 19 policemen supposedly linked by a slain police officer to operators of illegal drugs syndicates in New Bilibid Prison and cybersex dens in Olongapo City were relieved.

In March, the head and 11 members of the Pampanga Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation Task Group faced summary dismissal proceedings for taking two luggage with “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and not reporting these in the inventory of items seized in November last year from a Chinese trader.

These happened even as President Aquino, in a speech in 2012, said that in negotiating “the straight and righteous path, we cannot have bullies as policemen.”

“We cannot have uniformed police officers driving without helmets or even licenses; we cannot have policemen who perpetuate the culture of impunity that impedes the reforms we have sown. If you are a policeman who accepts bribes at the cost of the environment, if you are a policeman who uses or even sells illegal drugs, if you are involved in bribery or in corruption, if you are a policeman who turns a blind eye to illegal logging—your days are numbered,” Mr. Aquino said during the assumption of  Director General Alan Purisima as chief of the Philippine National Police.

“If we wish to remove the shadow of doubt that has been cast upon our police force by the public, then each policeman must do his part to develop a culture of honor and nationalism within his ranks. You must lead our people to realize that your goal is their safety. Whenever they see you, they should feel secure, not scared,” the President said.

Purisima said policemen involved in illegal activities should leave the service.  Tonette Orejas, with a report from Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon