‘With rogue cops, we don’t need criminals’

When I was in grade school decades ago, rogue cops were unheard of. As far as I can remember, the police force then was a bunch of behaved and disciplined law enforcers. They did their mandated job of maintaining peace and order with decency, dignity, dependability and, above all, integrity. They enjoyed the  trust, respect and admiration of the populace they were  sworn to serve and protect. They projected an image of admirable efficiency, dedication and, above all, incorruptibility, as public servants.

I still have vivid memories of the ubiquitous foot patrols of khaki-uniformed cops who patrolled in pairs in streets and public places, day and night. What was remarkable about them was that they were armed only with wooden clubs (batuta) which they had no use for. The visibility in the streets of these foot patrols proved to be an effective crime-deterrent strategy.

But times have changed since then.

Today, as a retired “old dog” (I will turn 90 this year), already basking in the luxury of idleness, keenly observing the contemporary scene, I am saddened and alarmed by the reported infestation of the ranks of the Philippine National Police by scalawags and hoodlums in uniform. Like I always say, these criminal cops are villains and bad guys who are a menace to society and should be neutralized and banished from the face of the earth. Only then perhaps will our country be a safer place to live in.

Really, with rogue cops in our midst, we don’t need criminals. This is the tragic truth that we have to live with.

The recent media reports disclosing that the administration will undertake to cleanse and purge the PNP of bad cops should be a welcome development. To be sure, this effort would entail a herculean task that should be addressed ceaselessly and seriously by the authorities concerned. It’s about time, indeed, this was done. I can only hope that this endeavor will attain fruition in the foreseeable future. Well, better late than never. But still, it’s better never late.

Parenthetically, the Department of Tourism has just announced that it is sticking to the slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” But in more specific terms, I say that there “is more gun” in the Philippines—that is, loose firearms everywhere that are used to kill. Sad to say, so long as these deadly weapons keep proliferating in the hands of criminal-minded individuals, there is little hope for this country to be great again.

God save the Philippines!

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Bartolome C. Fernandez Jr., retired senior commissioner, Commission on Audit