Living through morale

If the news wasn’t filled with topics about the recent typhoon Egay, we would have focused our attention on another round of police officers who filed their resignation. There were 18 of them, who were police colonels, sent to the Department of the Interior and Local Government their intention to leave their posts after alleged involvement in illegal drugs. This has happened before and in fact, Central Visayas was one of the regions whose director also filed for resignation.

But then we are still on status quo which means that there are no changes to leadership. The daily operations are still business as usual. Clients can still avail of the services offered by the police when it comes to security and safety. On the other hand, their mandate to serve and protect continues by enforcing laws, including local ordinances. However, being tagged as involved in something you aren’t doing is an easy feat.

There are different factors to consider such as public embarrassment, bullying of family members, and the sacrifice of a career. Sometimes my thoughts provoke me into making a judgment that the resignation is all for show. If there is an intention to investigate and implicate an official, then the evidence should speak for it. There is no point in putting them in the limelight only for them to lose whatever status they worked hard for.

The police in Central Visayas said that they are not losing their morale with what is going on. In fact, they are continuing their mandate and doing their best in maintaining it. They are making sure that this region, which is considered as a premiere tourist hub, is being taken care of. It is important that tourists and visitors alike feel safe as they explore what we can offer from beaches to high mountains.

There should be a change in how things are administered. If we want to cleanse the ranks of our police officials, there might be a better way to do it. I might not offer that idea now but I know great leaders can think of ways to preserve their integrity. As they say there are many ways to skin a cat, this also obviously applies to that.

Despite many attempts to smear this organization, I have never lost faith in our uniformed personnel. We may also not see eye to eye with them in certain aspects, but I respect them for all that they do. I hope appointed officials should also see it that way. They are men and women who are risking their lives every day so they can be of service to the country. They leave their families just to make sure the community can sleep well at night. I think there is a better way to thank them --a shaming name drop and an allegation wouldn't suffice. We can always choose the better side of the coin, where one does not have to go through trauma and shame.