EDITORIAL - VIP treatment

Another 15 policemen have been relieved on suspicion that they were involved in the pyramid scam that duped thousands of investors in Mindanao. The 15, according to reports, are under investigation not necessarily for direct participation in the Ponzi scheme but for acting as security escorts of executives of Aman Futures Group Phils. Inc.

Why do private individuals of an investment firm have police escorts? Interior Secretary Mar Roxas should find out who authorized those cops to serve as private bodyguards. These days Aman executives led by Manuel Amalilio certainly need bodyguards to protect them from lynching by irate victims of the scam. But when the Aman executives were living it up and initially managing to pay investors the promised high profits, why did they have police bodyguards?

This development should prompt a review of the deployment of police personnel. The police-to-population ratio is inadequate enough without every moneyed businessman demanding VIP protection. There are less than 150,000 cops directly tasked to maintain peace and order. Too many of them are on bodyguard duty, assigned to politicians, some top businessmen, and even the spouses, children and mistresses of these privileged individuals.

Some VIPs have enough police and militia bodyguards to constitute a private army. Such bodyguards were accused of directly perpetrating the 2009 massacre of 58 people, mostly journalists, in Maguindanao in an event that will be commemorated tomorrow. The anniversary of the massacre as well as the approach of the midterm elections in 2013 should inspire a rationalization of the use of cops as bodyguards.

There have been several failed attempts in recent years to do this. Perhaps the practice can be eliminated by the administration that put an end to the indiscriminate use of sirens or wang-wang. Every Filipino deserves equal protection by law enforcers. VIPs who want special protection surely have enough money to hire their own private security guards.