PNP bends rules for honest guard

This cop wannabe may indeed be too short and too old, but in the eyes of police officials, she possesses all the requirements that mattered.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) opened its door yesterday to Ma. Fe Sotelo, a female security guard who exemplified honesty by returning a bag containing P500,000 to a Chinese trader who lost the said item at the Festival Mall in Alabang last week.

PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the they are waiving the age and height requirements for new recruits to accommodate Sotelo, who returned the beltbag of Wang Chao Wei, a visiting Chinese businessman from the Tiangxi region of China, known for its porcelain ware. His group was in Manila for a trade exhibit.

The 32-year-old Sotelo, of the Linggus Security Agency, is barely five feet tall. The PNP requires aspiring officers to be at least five feet tall and 25 years old.

"We are willing to bend the rules a little bit to accommodate Ma. Fe Sotelo. We need the likes of her in our rank," Ebdane said in a statement.

According to Senior Superintendent Oscar Valenzuela, acting director of the Community Relations Group, the PNP chief has ordered the Directorate for Personnel Records and Management (DPRM) to make the necessary adjustments to pave way for Sotelo’s recruitment.

Ebdane said Sotelo’s inclusion in the PNP would boost its campaign for an honest, effective, and competent police organization.

Sotelo was doing her rounds at the Festival Mall at around 12:20 a.m. last Jan. 7 when she found a belt bag on the floor of the men’s restroom at the basement parking lot. She immediately brought it to the administration office.

Sotelo impressed the mall administrator, her employer, colleagues, and a delegation of Chinese businessmen in Manila after she returned the bag despite the huge amount inside.

"It would be an honor to have her with us. She is a living proof that honest people want to be policemen to bring the desired changes in the organization," Ebdane said.

Sotelo arrived in Manila from Iloilo last August to look for work. She graduated with a degree in criminology from the University of Iloilo and has been dreaming of becoming a police officer. – Christina Mendez