Friday, August 24, 2007 Roperos: Playing good cops By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
BASED on “cop” stories that landed in the prime pages of this daily recently, I am horrified to think of how our nation’s police may have been so corrupted that our policemen have become so brazen in committing shenanigans.
Not only were they shooting or stabbing each other, they were also reported to have joined some lawless elements in our midst. The most recent is the entrapment done right in the police’s own office.
This has actually put the image of our police corps on the chopping block of public opinion. One redeeming factor is the fact that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 operation had the knowledge and cooperation of top officials of the local police.
Police Regional Office 7 Director Silverio Alarcio and Cebu City Police Chief Patrocinio Comendador were aware of the NBI operation and welcomed it as a way “to protect the good ones.”
Truth is, I have always wondered about the good and bad members of our police. I am not sure whether those who committed malfeasance were originally good and had turned bad because of the poor working and living conditions in the police corps.
Or whether they were originally bad but played good cop in the hope that they could turn a new leaf in life. Or that they were bad from the beginning and were just waiting for the opportunity to earn some profit.
Whatever it is that makes good cops become a menace to our society is really an enormous puzzle to me. It could be their poverty, in which case we should blame our government for not paying them well. After all, like our soldiers, they are also required to lay their lives on the line while on duty. Or it could be our poor economy.
But then again, it could be that new recruits are attracted to the law enforcement occupation because of the belief that, like the Bureau of Customs (BOC), one could get rich quick in it if he handles his “career” right.
Indeed, if personnel officers of government agencies were to ask applicants what would be the their first choice of government unit to apply in, surely any one of the three—the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the BOC, and the Philippine National Police—would be cited. And the reason? The answer is simple: the three agencies have been known to be a source of easy cash for the workers.
It is a shame. It is unjust to the good ones. But it is also a reality we should face. Playing good cop is quite hard to sustain.
