"If he wished to go by the tradition of seniority, then he would have named one already in the past weeks."
"If he wished to go by the tradition of seniority, then he would have named one already in the past weeks."
It makes sense, the idea that President Duterte, the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, might as well be the concurrent Chief of the Philippine National Police.
The President said he'd rather not appoint anybody in the event he fails to find a general he can trust to lead the national police, apparently frustrated over the extent corruption that has plagued the PNP to the top.
We would like to believe that only a “nil percent” of the police organization is involved in such activities, but, truth be told, widespread corruption and illegal activities involving PNP personnel persist. These include jueteng and other illegal gambling operations.
I know for a fact that there is no dearth of skilled and brilliant police generals in the PNP, having covered the police beat and rubbed elbows with them for many years.
I just wish Manong Digong would easily find somebody like one officer and a gentleman I most admired, a retired police general who continues to render his no-nonsense public service in the country's summer capital.
I can understand Manong Digong’s frustration over the repeated foul-ups and screw-ups of the police leadership in handling heinous crimes and corruption cases involving cops.
Just one example is the unsolved case of Korean Jee Ick Joo, who was abducted then killed by crooks in uniform inside Camp Crame, Quezon City in October 2016. This was a low point in the PNP’s history.
Then came the exposé on the so-called Ninja Cops under former PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde, who was Pampanga provincial police chief in 2013. It was an offshoot of the Senate probe into the massive irregularities in the Bureau of Corrections release of over 20,000 convicts from the national prison facilities. In many cases, the releases involved bribes or outright extortion by BuCor officials and personnel under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) parole program.
I share Manong Digong's reservation about trusting anybody anytime soon to designate as Chief PNP. Everyone should share the President's utter frustration.
Again, I do not believe Manong Digong is in a predicament of not having a single trustworthy PNP official. He is rather faced with the challenge discovering and choosing the right one carefully.
If he wished to go by the tradition of seniority, then he would have named one already in the past weeks.
It won’t be a surprise if the President eventually picks a junior PNP official who may not be a PMAer, or decides so to appoint the first female police general as Chief PNP. This may not be a bad idea at all.
One thing I'm pretty sure of, the next Chief PNP will not go by the name Leni Robredo!