PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald de la Rosa’s pronouncement that the second version of President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs will be less bloody, if not bloodless, is a virtual admission that the methods used by the police in the campaign’s original incarnation was a total disaster. It took the murder of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo by elements of the police themselves right at the doorstep of De la Rosa for the authorities to realize the folly of those ways.
First of all, it was entirely naïve of De la Rosa and the President to publicly condone, nay encourage, killing drug suspects who offer the slightest resistance during police operations and not expect abuses to be committed. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, more so if impunity is guaranteed.
It is also unconscionable for De la Rosa not to realize that some members of the force engage in various unauthorized fund-raising activities, if not crimes ranging from petty extortion to kidnapping even before his tenure as top cop. It is a well-known fact that rogue policemen moonlight as bodyguards of politicians and crime lords, intimidating civilians by their presence. Arrest warrants for sale is another ingenious way cops make money aside from outright illegal drug protection, among others. And to think that these practices do not have the blessing and accessory participation of ranking service officers is putting gullibility to a new level.
It is therefore easy to conclude that the perceived impunity granted by the public assurances of the Chief PNP and the President engendered the much maligned extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the police during buy-bust operations. The same guarantees have emboldened bad cops to engage in other crimes such as Joo’s killing. For all intents and purposes, vigilante killings may have also found a father from those statements.
While the recent turn around cannot bring back to life the thousands of victims of the war on illegal drugs, it is the collective hope of peace-loving Filipinos that this time the police will observe the rule of law and due process in doing their job. It is also expected that the PNP top brass will be more serious in clamping down on the illegal activities their people engage in and for commanders to take to heart the concept of command responsibility. It is only proper for De la Rosa to declare a strict policy on this basic management precept where commanders are required to have full knowledge of their personnel’s activities at all times and take accountability for their wrongdoing.
This is where the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the newly-formed Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF) will play a key role. But only if these two units will be staffed by idealistic young police officers who are not afraid to put the finger on their erring fellow cops and given enough powers and authority to do so. If the elements of these watchdogs come from the existing organic police commands, we might as well forget it.
They have long been corrupted to do a good job of cleansing the ranks of the PNP. Instead of policing their hierarchy, jaded police elements under these units will turn a blind eye or cover up the illegal acts of their comrades and the merry criminal rigmarole will continue. This at the expense of the long-suffering Filipino who expects their police force to provide service and protection, not commit crimes. This is the best legacy that De la Rosa can leave the PNP and the Filipino people when he retires a few years from now.