PNP’s ‘institutional culture’

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ceres Doyo’s column, “SOS for police’s mistaken targets,” (1/4/18).

As a former naval officer and also a Boy Scout, it was good to see how she used that traditional signal.

Sadly, it does not seem to matter what the innocent do, the use of deadly force seems to be in the institutional culture of the Philippine National Police!

I was most impressed by Ceres’ willingness to call a spade a spade, so to speak. So many media commentators seem to shy away from criticism of the Duterte administration and its armed forces on the streets.

With trigger happy police, encouraged by a buffoon for chief of the PNP, and the encouragement of the President who seems to wish to solve so many issues with violence, Mandaluyong was an accident waiting to happen.

Thanks so much for making that point so cleverly.

GILL BOEHRINGER, former dean, Macquarie University Law School, Sydney, Australia, gill_boehringer@hotmail.com