Next PNP chief may not be among 3 top guns

The next chief of the Philippine National Police will not be chosen from among the three contenders for the PNP helm.

PNP Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the PNP succession list is not limited to Deputy Director Generals Edgar Aglipay, Virtus Gil and Reynaldo Velasco, all of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) "Matatag" Class of ’71.

"I have told them many times that there must be a gentleman’s and fair competition," Ebdane said. "As a matter of fact, they are not the only ones who have (the) potential to become the PNP chief. There are other candidates."

Ebdane added that he does not want to sow more intrigue among Gil, Aglipay and Velasco, who have recently expressed support for the President following the exposés of another PMA classmate, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

The alleged involvement of another "mistah" of the PMA Class of ’71, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, in the failed July 27 mutiny also drew the line between the PMA classmates, defining who are for and opposed to the President.

Ebdane said his successor should possess "seniority" and have the "capability" to lead the PNP, adding that his choice will include one-star generals.

Ebdane also welcomed yesterday the conduct of lifestyle checks by the Arroyo administration among top government officials.

To emphasize this, Ebdane told reporters yesterday about how embarrassed he felt three weeks ago, when the soles of his favorite shoes "loosened" when he stood as sponsor at a wedding ceremony in Naga City.

"Would you believe it, they teased the PNP chief for allowing the sole of his shoe to come off just before he attended a wedding," Ebdane said of the incident. "So, lesson learned: bring rugby (shoe glue)."

Laughing, Ebdane added that he wound up borrowing a pair of shoes from the regional police director so he could attend the wedding.

The PNP chief said the worn shoes were his favorite pair, which he bought at a bargain in the United States some years back. "These were my favorite shoes."

Unlike the Bureau of Customs (BOC), where top officials offered to resign their posts to pave the way for lifestyle checks, Ebdane said the PNP welcomes the lifestyle checks that are part of the government’s campaign against corruption in public service.

However, the PNP chief is careful about making public the statements of assets and liabilities (SALs) of police officials and personnel. "If there is a need and if there is a court order, then we will publish them."

"These are public documents," he said, but added that the SAL "is a controlled document," thus they cannot be published without a court order.

Meanwhile, Sen. Noli de Castro filed a bill which will require all local officials to post in public places a summary of all revenue collection, income received by local government units (LGUs) from both public and private sectors and details of how these funds were spent.

Senate Bill 2029, or the Local Government Transparency Act, aims to address the perennial problem of corruption in government.

It is De Castro’s belief that government should begin its campaign against corruption at the local government level in order to succeed in its mission to eliminate graft and corruption. — With Jose Rodel Clapano