The vice chair of the House of Representatives’ public order and safety committee has expressed his alarm over the recent spate of violence involving cops and urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership to sanction its erring members to prevent erosion of public trust in the PNP.
“We expect our cops to uphold public safety, not endanger it. So it is truly disturbing to learn about cops being involved in crimes against our people,” Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos said.
Recently, the head of the Special Operations Unit of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group in Calabarzon and 14 of his officers have been relieved of their posts after a Grade 9 student accused them of raping and robbing her following a supposed operation targeting her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, eight cops in Navotas also allegedly tortured two murder suspects under their custody.
Bernos said that while he believes these are isolated incidents, the PNP leadership should continue to focus on honing police discipline and moral education.
He said that alongside continued training to boost police personnel’s competence and readiness, “we should equally emphasize discipline among the ranks and, most importantly, that good and justice should always prevail.”
“Kailangang top-of-mind parati ng ating kapulisan na bilang alagad ng batas at hustisya, sila dapat ang number 1 na tagapagtaguyod at tagasunod nito,” the lawmaker added.
According to the lawmaker, failure to do so could lead to a growing mistrust among the public of their sworn protectors.
“Naniniwala ako na di hamak na masmaraming matino na pulis kaysa sa sinasabing ‘bad eggs.’ But all it takes are a few erring PNP officers to erode trust in our police forces, so sana po tutukan nila itong concern na ito.”
