Poe prods PNP to get rid of ‘scalawags’ in its force

MANILA, Philippines—Following the arrest of eight policemen in their involvement in the brazen kidnap-for-ransom incident on Edsa, Senator Grace Poe urged Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Alan Purisima Tuesday to intensify efforts to get rid of “scalawags” in its force.

“Huwag nating kalimutan—156,000 police personnel—siyempre kahit sa isang pamilya ‘yan, kahit lima lang kayo, meron talagang black sheep diyan. Meron talagang may problema diyan. Nakakabahala na merong mga ganyan lalo na’t ini-entrust natin sa kanila ang ating kaligtasan. Hindi naman natin pwedeng sabihin na kinukundena natin ang buong sistema ng kapulisan pero dapat talagang ipakita ng liderato ng PNP na agaran nilang susulosyunan ito, parusahan nila agad,” Poe said in an interview.

Senator Grace Poe. PRIB

[Let us not forget―156,000 police personnel―of course, there’s a black sheep in the family. There is a problem there. It’s alarming that there are problematic people there considering that we entrust them our safety. We are not condemning the whole police force but what the leadership of the PNP should quickly find a solution to this, punish them.]

The lady senator filed a Senate resolution directing the PNP to have “an improved 24/7 dedicated direct national emergency hotline similar to the successful 911 system in the US to address crime situations and provide assistance for citizens’ predicaments and other peace and order issues.”

Poe, head of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, also cited the need for an improved police hotline as crime volume in the country spiked during the first four months of 2014 compared to the same period last year: from 245,347 crimes last year to 289,198 this year.

The PNP currently has 117 as its hotline yet Poe said that it is not being implemented on a national scale.

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