EDITORIAL - Progressive transformation

The month opened with a new man at the helm of the Philippine National Police. Rommel Francisco Marbil became the third PNP chief under the Marcos administration less than a day after Malacañang named his erstwhile superior officer Emmanuel Peralta as the PNP officer-in-charge following the retirement of Benjamin Acorda Jr. on March 31.

At the turnover of command, President Marcos instructed Marbil to ensure that PNP members become “agents of progressive transformation” who will be “more efficient, transparent and trustworthy,” upholding “the highest standards of professionalism.”

Marbil struck the right note with his commitment to accountability and transparency in the police force. He vowed to “nurture police officers to whom a humane approach to law enforcement is a given” – a continuation of the Marcos administration’s shift away from the brutality of the anti-crime campaign carried out during the previous administration. Addressing the most controversial issue faced by the PNP, Marbil said there is no need to declare a renewed war on drugs, since stamping out illegal drugs is an intrinsic function of the national police.

Human rights advocates say abuses in the anti-crime campaign continue, although the level of violence has gone down considerably. But old habits die hard; PNP members continue to be trigger-happy, as the nation saw in the case of 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar, who was mistaken for a fleeing murder suspect by Navotas policemen and shot dead on Aug. 2 last year. Only one of the policemen was convicted of homicide and sentenced to no more than six years in prison. One was acquitted while the three others were convicted of illegal discharge of firearms and sentenced to four months. The four have been released, free to shoot to kill again.

Such cases make it a challenge for Marbil to improve public trust in the PNP. He must also dispel perceptions that police protection is focused mainly on VIPs. The PNP has only 230,000 personnel. A large number of them serve as private bodyguards of thousands of government officials and even wealthy or influential civilians. Any progressive transformation in the PNP must put an end to this. Public safety must mean safety for all, and not just for a favored few.