‘Total war’ vs crime

See what happens when you extract confessions by force from suspects. Not that I’m taking the word of Philip Medel Jr. as gospel truth – he looks as sane as "star witness" Angelo Mawanay. But Medel’s ugly leg bruises don’t look like they were self-inflicted. And if he really surrendered because his conscience was bothering him, why handcuff him, resulting in those wrist bruises?

Any self-respecting cop should remember this: while force may sometimes have its uses when you’re dealing with thugs, torture more often can merely make a person own up to the murder even of Jose Rizal. And if you get a "confession" from the wrong guy, it means the real culprit is still out there.

If Medel is telling the truth about his torture, he should at least be thankful that cops are now so crude and inept they even leave physical marks on their victim.

This is the problem when investigators rely too much on confessions of suspects. If police had material evidence to bolster their case against Medel, no hysterical circus before TV cameras will absolve him of the charges. It’s good to see police at least knowing enough these days to cordon off a crime scene to preserve evidence. But our law enforcers have a long way to go in scientific investigation.

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Director Edgar Aglipay, reinstalled chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), agrees that police investigation can use a major improvement.

Before President Arroyo left for the United States, the top brass of the Philippine National Police gave her a "wish list" of equipment, mostly for the crime laboratory, that are badly needed for criminal investigation and anti-terrorist operations. The list was submitted to Washington. The Department of Budget and Management has also approved the release of P700 million for police equipment, Aglipay told us yesterday.

What the PNP needs, however, are personnel with proper training in scientific methods of investigation. You can try to teach old dogs new tricks, but the PNP is pinning its hope on the younger generation. Aglipay said 1,700 men and women, all of them college graduates, are joining the PNP, with 1,000 to be sworn in Dec. 1. The infusion of new blood will continue.

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Aglipay is aware of the major hurdles he is facing, the toughest of which is public distrust of the PNP. Peace and order is seen as a major weakness of the Arroyo administration. How does the commander of the police force in Metro Manila, a region with one of the highest crime rates in the world, make the President’s avowed "total war versus criminality" go beyond rhetoric?

One is by increasing police presence, Aglipay said. Undercover agents are being fielded in commercial areas and more patrol vehicles are being deployed. Aglipay wants quick police response to calls for help. He is also tapping barangay tanods and activating the multisectoral barangay peace and order committees.

"We’ll defend the streets," he vowed.

The defense will go hand-in-hand with the offense. Aglipay said they are going after 23 criminal gangs with 177 members, most of them engaged in ransom kidnapping in Metro Manila.

He is demanding performance from his men and imposing discipline. If kidnappings or bank robberies are perpetrated at least twice within a month in a particular place, the police station commander responsible for the area will be relieved.

In every station there will be roll calls three times a day, to weed out the so-called "15-30" cops – police personnel who show up only to collect their pay every 15th and 30th of the month. At the same time, the campaign against mulcting or "kotong" cops will be intensified. If you have complaints about cops, you can call Aglipay on his cell phone at 0917-813-1310.

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Haven’t we heard all this before? Sure. And I don’t see any great future for the PNP while its top brass is dominated by officers trained for military service instead of criminal investigation. Police performance started sliding downhill when graduates of the Philippine Military Academy took over the top police posts.

But there’s hope for Aglipay, a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s Class ’71 – the same batch that gave us Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan. Aglipay works 18 hours a day and tries to avoid scandals in the PNP. In his crisp "Mendoza blue" uniform he is the image of a professional, disciplined cop.

"Last time I commanded the NCRPO I lost my gall bladder. This time maybe I’ll lose a kidney," he told us yesterday, acknowledging the challenges before him. "But with the people’s help I think we can do it."