PNP: 'Poor' basic training, moral values make erring policemen

MANILA -- Amid allegations of corruption in the institution's procurement and after the recent extort attempt by a metro cop, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said insufficient training for aspiring law enforcers may have created erring personnel in the police force.

In a statement, the PNP said the numerous administrative and criminal cases involving its personnel, mostly Police Officer 1 to Police Officer 3, may be attributed to poor basic training and moral values acquired by primary police recruits, which affects law enforcement service and practice.

Just this month, a Quezon City cop was axed from the police service for attempting to extort money from the son of Metro Manila police chief Leonardo Espina himself.

Espina also fired four more cops, who were either Police Officer 2 or Police Officer 3, due to grave misconduct and serious irregularity in the performance of duty.

Eleven other erring policemen, mostly Police Officer 1 accused of grave misconduct, are also lined up for dismissal, according to Espina.

The Metro Manila police chief also ordered the inventory of policemen with pending major cases and directed the resolution of these cases within 30 days.

Police Director General Nicanor Bartolome, the PNP chief, stressed the significance of basic police training in making "credible" police personnel.

"The training stage is a very important segment in the career of police officers. This is where the knowledge, skills, character and behavior are being molded to prepare our personnel for the unyielding task and responsibility as professional officers," Bartolome said.

"It is also a significant factor in the transformation of the PNP into a credible and effective organization worthy of the people’s trust and confidence," he added.

The PNP said "better" basic training and values foundation to aspiring police officers and competency enhancement of current police officers will be achieved if the schools for police aspirants will be transferred to the PNP itself.

Bartolome expressed "deep appreciation" for the filing of Senate Bill 3218 and Senate Bill 268 that seek to transfer to the PNP the direct control of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), Philippine National Training Institute (PNTI), and the National Police College (NPC).

The said schools are currently under the supervision of the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).

"Law students are trained by lawyers, medical students are trained by doctors and seminarians are trained by priests. However, PNP personnel are trained by civilians on the aspects of police discipline, basic police tactics, customs of the service and field exercises," Bartolome said.

The PNP chief added that other government agencies like Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) have their own academies directly under their supervision.

Through the Senate Bill 3218 and 268, the PPSC will then be concentrating on providing services to the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.(Emmanuel Louis Bacani/Sunnex)