EDITORIAL - Service Day

Several men and a woman were honored yesterday for exemplary courage in performing their duties as members of the Philippine National Police. Courage and other virtues are rarely associated with the police force, which has been tainted by the activities of the rotten eggs in the organization. Cops have figured in all types of crimes, from penny-ante extortion or kotong to kidnapping for ransom, carjacking, bank robbery and murder. During the Marcos regime, the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police, forerunner of the PNP, became one of the enforcers of authoritarian rule, committing serious human rights violations.

When the PNP was organized in 1991, absorbing most of the constabulary officers, its first chief was implicated in a corrupt deal. Yesterday the PNP marked its 110th “Service Day” in the shadow of yet another corruption scandal, this time involving several of its former top officials who approved the purchase of used helicopters at brand-new prices last year. The anniversary marked the creation of the Insular Police at the start of the American occupation. Its theme celebrated 110 years of the police as the citizenry’s partner toward a straight path or matuwid na daan.

 There are in fact many men and women of courage and dedication in the police service, cops who are taking the straight path and putting their lives at risk in the line of duty despite their modest pay and limited resources for effective law enforcement. Two of those honored yesterday, Senior Police Officers 2 Ricky Agwit and Jeff Domingo, received posthumous promotions. They died in a landslide while on a mission to assist government foresters in the Cordilleras during typhoon “Juaning” last month. Many cops have been killed or permanently disabled in fighting criminals.

And yet what linger in the public mind are the activities of the rotten eggs. Today it is the scandal over the helicopters. While the finger of blame is pointing principally at former first gentleman Mike Arroyo, the PNP officers who actually approved and signed the purchase may also be held liable for their acquiescence or, worse, for profiting from the deal. The scandal should teach those in the active service that complicity in wrongdoing is not a good path to career advancement. This lesson is just one of many that the PNP must learn in its effort to take the straight path in serving the public.