Varilla wants friendly, courteous police force

In a bid to improve their tarnished image, newly installed Metro police chief Director Reynaldo Varilla said he wants policemen in Metro Manila to be more friendly and courteous in dealing with the public, especially victims of crimes.

At the same time, Varilla also vowed to intensify the purging of extort cops, misfits and scalawags in the police organization, which he said, has tainted the commendable work of most policemen.

The new Metro police chief issued his guidelines during his first command conference with his staff, five district directors and 37 station commanders at the headquarters of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City yesterday.

"I want my men to be friendly, courteous and tactful in dealing with the people. They must be approachable," Varilla said in an interview.

He vowed to transform the NCRPO, under his watch, into an organization that is well-loved and respected by the people and to make Metro Manila a better and safer place to live in.

When asked the punishment that awaits those who fail to act in a courteous manner, the new Metro police chief said, "I will deal with that later."

"I want to deal with my men in a positive way. With regards to punishment, I will cross the bridge when I get there," he said. "But everybody must heed my guidelines because this is also for our own good."

At the said command conference, Varilla imposed upon his district directors and station commanders to step up the drive against organized crime groups, illegal drugs and terrorism.

Varilla had only praise for his predecessor, retired Director Vidal Querol, and his performance during his more than 15 months at the helm of the NCRPO. "In fairness to General Querol, he did a good job at the NCRPO. I will try to excel or improve on all aspects of the job."

He warned district directors and station commanders not to be complacent because of their previous accomplishments under Querol.

Varilla directed his men to work harder "for much more has to be done for the NCRPO to be transformed into an organization that is well-loved and respected by the civilian populace."

"We should work even harder to develop a real sense of security among the populace of the metropolis and act with more prudence and circumspect, if we are to totally turn around the image of the police," he stressed.

Varilla said he would go hard against rogue cops.

"We should continue purging the police organization of misfits in uniform — the incompetent, the arrogant, and the abusive cops with criminal minds — to restore dignity and honor of many of us who have served well," he pointed out.

A day after assuming the top Metro police post, Varilla joined Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Calderon in inspecting security measures at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

"We inspected the security at the NAIA. Terrorists often target places of convergence like the airports, Light Railway Transit and Metro Rail Transit," Varilla said.

Police officials are set to inspect security at the LRT and MRT stations in the next few days.

The new Metro police chief said problems being encountered by his command like the lack of firearms, personnel and resources are common in the other regional commands of the PNP.

"The problems raised are also being encountered in other police regional commands. We shall make do with what we have," he said. — Non Alquitran