IN A nutshell, the current state of our national police can be summed up by the Filipino saying: Lahat ng gubat may ahas. While definitely, the majority of our uniformed enforcers are upright and sworn to uphold the law, a few sore thumbs stick out every now and then.
The actions of the latter wayward individuals have given rise to such derogatory terms as ninja cops (who recycle and resell illegal drugs seized in operations), kotong cops (those involved in extortion), tulog cops (those who sleep while on duty), awol cops (those absent without leave). You name it.
Two well publicized “kotong cop” cases were reported in Muntinlupa and in Manila recently. They involved more or less the same modus operandi.
The rogue policemen would stage some phony police operation, (anti-drug or anti-illegal trafficking) arrest the victims, and extort money in exchange for their release. If the victims fail to come across, charges are filed, which inevitably land the victims in some smelly, over-crowded detention center. Some of those arrested are often denied bail for the duration of their trial.
Unfortunately for the kotong cops in the last two cases, the victims sought the assistance of police higher ups. In subsequent entrapment operations, the rogue cops were caught with the marked money which the intended victims handed them.
It is to the credit of the police bosses that “internal cleansing operations” prove successful every now and then. Still, the police authorities can only shake their heads in disgust. These rogue cops have just had their salaries practically doubled by President Rody as an incentive for them to stay away from monkey business.
Food for thought: Public prosecutors in Muntinlupa and Manila may wish to review the cases they have filed where the arresting officers are among those kotong cops involved in the aforementioned publicized incidents. The prosecutors will be saving many detainees -- presumptively illegally charged and detained -- from further grave injustice. They will also help decongest our over-crowded detention centers.
Sona, here and abroad
Around 4 p.m. Monday, President Rody delivered his third State of the Nation Address (Sona). This was pursuant to a constitutional mandate, which requires the Chief Executive to inform Congress annually of the state of the nation and to recommend such measures as may be necessary and expedient.
Here in the Philippines, it is called Sona. In the US, it is State of the Union. In Great Britain, it is called Speech from the Throne or The Queen’s (or King’s) Speech. It is Prinsjesdag in the Netherlands. There is no equivalent name in Japan but the speech, likewise, is delivered during the first session of Parliament.
Since the time of President Quezon, every Philippine President personally appeared every year before Congress to deliver his message. The only exception occurred in 1950 when President Elpidio Quirino, who was then recuperating from an illness, delivered his Sona via radio from his hospital bed in the United States.--SunStar Manila online