Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Philippine National Police (PNP), known as the vanguard of the country’s campaign against illegal drugs, has come under scrutiny after several top officials were implicated in an alleged cover-up of a multi-billion peso shabu haul.
At least 50 high-ranking policemen were charged for their supposed involvement in the 990-kilogram methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, seized from an arrested police sergeant in October last year.In January, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos called for the resignation from service of all senior officers, particularly police generals and colonels, in an effort to purge their ranks of connections to the illegal narcotics trade.Days before the retirement of police chief Rodolfo Azurin in April, the PNP was met with yet another challenge — its inclusion in a reported massive data leak that is believed to have compromised data such as fingerprint scans, signatures, and other relevant documents.A year in the face of controversies, will the nation’s cops be able to rise above its problems under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second year of leadership?
Courtesy resignations
Citing the laborious process of sanctioning erring members of the police, Abalos explained that his recommendation for senior officers to file their “courtesy” resignations is a “shortcut” to address the discovery of police officials with links to the drug trade.
“We’ve been doing that for so long… alam mo naman ang tagal ng proseso ng husgado. Ang technicality, ang lahat,” said Abalos. “This is the only way to cleanse the ranks na mabilis.”
[Translation: We’ve been doing that for so long. You already know how long the judicial process takes — its technicality and all. This is the only way to cleanse the ranks fast.]
Beset by the problem of corrupt officers in the narcotics trade, including “ninja cops” that allegedly resell seized drugs, the PNP grapples in preserving its integrity with officers involved in kidnap-extortion schemes, rape cases, and murders, among others.
The plea for courtesy resignations could be an attempt to launch a genuine campaign against government corruption. However, in the face of long-standing integrity concerns, how could it address these institutional problems?
Despite numerous attempts to purge police ranks under various administrations, a political analyst points to the PNP’s institutional chain of command as the root of the “mesh-type” issues.“Many of the PNP officials that later on assume the position of PNP chief are already ‘retirables.’ The level of continuity is always hampered,” Dr. Froilan Calilung, director of the Local Government Development Institute, said in an interview with CNN Philippines.Calilung pointed out that most national police chiefs only hold the post for a year or several months.He said they come into position when they are already “on their way out,” leaving inadequate time to institutionalize necessary changes.While an attempt to clean the ranks is generally good, Calilung said Abalos’ appeal for courtesy resignations “tainted” the image of the PNP to an agency that is unable to make choices on its own. This may be attributed to the frequent changes in command to the point that its appointing authority had to step in.
₱6.7-billion shabu mess
‘ ’45’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:1e0c03bd-6a03-4d29-ab93-3051a9497f55’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Authorities destroyed nearly a metric ton of shabu valued at
“In the days to come, lots of challenges and issues will be coming out under a new leadership,” Azurin said in April, days before he turned over his responsibility to the new top cop, Benjamin Acorda.
Acorda’s promotion comes at the heels of allegations that a number of high-ranking police officials “covered up” the arrest of an anti-narcotics officer during the confiscation of ₱6.7 billion worth of illegal drugs — a claim Azurin denied.
Nearly a ton of shabu was confiscated from the property of Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., intelligence officer of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG), which immediately led to his arrest. This was followed by the demotion of the anti-drug unit head, Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo.
READ: Abalos urges PNP officials linked to ₱6.7-B shabu haul to go on leave
Days after, a cyber-security report came out detailing a “massive data breach” that allegedly put over 1.2 million employee and applicant records of various agencies at risk. The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group has been contacted by CNN Philippines for an update on its investigation into the data leak.
“Ang problema kasi sa PNP, yung ano nila— parang when it rains, it pours. ‘Pag nasimulan, tuloy-tuloy,” Calilung said. [The problem with the PNP, with what they do— it’s like when it rains, it pours. Once it starts, it goes on and on.]
The ₱6.7 billion shabu scandal, which led to a Senate probe and a criminal complaint against 50 top officers, as well as other integrity issues, ultimately had an impact on the public’s opinion of the PNP and on the morale of the rest of law enforcement personnel, according to Calilung.
“Right now, when you see a policeman, the image of [them] doing these illegal activities are rubbed on to you. The level of integrity, the level of respect to the authority is definitely diminished,” he said.“We can assume na talagang low morale yung PNP ngayon dahil sa mga nangyayaring ito,” added Calilung. [We can assume the PNP has really low morale now because of these issues.]
How the PNP could rise above controversies
Given the low morale among its line of officers who are supposed to “serve and protect” the public, whose perception has now changed for the worst, there is only one direction for the PNP to go: up.The political expert emphasized that the PNP can only overcome its issues when it starts to deliver “high-impact” achievements, particularly in criminality that is tangible and concrete to Filipinos.“Kailangan nila ng mga programa or proyekto na talagang magyi-yield ng immediate tangible outcomes na mararamdaman ng tao,” Calilung said. “In that way, the perception will somehow be a little bit neutralized.”[They need programs or projects that will really yield immediate tangible outcomes that people can feel.]
From June to December 2022 – the first six months of Marcos’ term, the PNP reported a 6.37% drop in the crime rate in the country.
In the first five months of the Duterte administration in 2016, the crime rate fell by a whopping 31%.
“I will provide you the funds. I will provide you the weapons needed to fight criminality,” Duterte told the PNP a day after his inauguration as chief executive.
The Duterte and Marcos regimes have a striking difference in how they have dealt with crime, said Calilung, underscoring that the current president has a “softer stance” on criminality as his administration focuses more on fiscal reforms.“Duterte ran and won within the context of the drug war,” Calilung said. “In the case of Marcos, it’s really more of a pragmatic approach towards uplifting and solving economic imperatives of the country.”
What’s next
The PNP earlier reported that crime incidents decreased in the first quarter of 2023, with cases of murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery, theft, rape, and carnapping down by 11.87% compared to the same period in 2022.
Police have also been tackling human trafficking cases and complaints of harassment by online lending apps.
RELATED: The crippling lure of online lending apps
Calilung claimed the president is seen to “crack the whip” on the PNP when his satisfaction and trust rating is affected by the agency’s “unscrupulous” activities.
“There are a lot of factors that might come into play, one is how these (issues) affect the current position of the president in line with his programs and also in line with is satisfaction and trust rating,” he said.
“But right now, it’s still a wait-and-see game,” Calilung added. The Marcos administration currently aims to improve the economy as the country recoups from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: 7 in 10 Pinoys satisfied with performance of Marcos admin in Q1 – OCTA survey
