EDITORIAL – Honesty Teams

The public welcomes any effort to weed out corrupt cops. Now the Philippine National Police has announced the deployment of "Honesty Teams" to go after corrupt members, notably cops extorting or accepting bribes from motorists. Similar campaigns have been launched in the past, with the most notable carried out by Panfilo Lacson against so-called "kotong" cops when he headed the PNP. Those previous campaigns have shown that two elements in particular are needed to make the effort a success: it must be sustained, and it must be supported by the public.

Despite struggles with its public image, the PNP does have honest members who are ready to go after rotten colleagues to cleanse their organization. But they need the full and sustained support of their leadership to carry out this housecleaning. This campaign must continue even after it has faded from the news.

The public must also do its part by abiding by traffic rules and avoiding bribery. Corruption is a two-way thing; strategic spots along main thoroughfares such as EDSA and Roxas Boulevard are turned into virtual terminals for buses and jeepneys because some transport operators pay bribes and regular protection money to cops, traffic aides and even City Hall officials. The PNP leadership can discourage this setup by penalizing cops – from commanders down to those actually directing traffic — whose areas of jurisdiction have these virtual terminals. Responsibility and accountability must be made clear and appropriate penalties applied on corrupt, inept or negligent cops.

While they’re at it, top PNP officials must extend the housecleaning to other areas of law enforcement. Cops have been implicated in all types of protection rackets and linked directly to criminal activities including jueteng, smuggling, carjacking, kidnapping and drug trafficking. The PNP has an internal affairs unit to investigate erring members. The "Honesty Teams" can be expanded to look out for cops who are giving the PNP a bad name in all aspects of law enforcement. But first, the PNP leadership must show that it means business. Sustaining the campaign against "kotong" cops will be a good start.