PNP should boot out crazy, trigger-happy corrupt cops

These mentally deranged cops may be a drop in the bucket from the total 220,000 PNP personnel, but they are already a serious threat to our society.

Take the tragic death of 52-year-old Lilybeth Valdez in Fairview, Quezon City, shot pointblank by Master Sgt Hensie Zinampan. Mother and son Sonia and Frank Anthony Gregorio killed merci-lessly by Staff Sgt. Jonel Nuezca in Paniqui,Tarlac and captured in full video.

In Manila, Executive Master Sgt Reynante Dipasupil went on a shooting rampage inside the po-lice headquarters Friday evening, shot dead a fellow officer and wounded another before he was killed.

Three Quezon City cops on a drinking spree killed fellow Corporal Higino Wayan and tried to pass it off initially as suicide. But investigation revealed Police Corporal Sherwin Rebot actually shot Wayan after losing in an “arm wrestling match”. Another cop, Corporal Harold Mendoza and police driver Lorenzo Lapay were both charged with murder by conspiracy.

In response, PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar ordered the PNP Health Service to initiate Psy-chiatric-Psychological Exam (PPE), a regular assessment of the emotional and mental health state of all policemen at least every three years, especially those involved in ground operations. This, he hoped, would improve the general welfare of all police personnel.

But I think this should be implanted with a culture of “after-action analysis” which means de-briefings at all levels being part of a cop’s daily work.

Whether the incident was false report, murder, rape, robbery, extortion, accident investigation or a formal inquiry, all policeman should review their past actions to determine facts, identify errors, problems and deficiencies and find ways to correct them. This means, when an incident or a mission is debriefed, regardless of rank or status, policemen are told to avoid “mistakes” in the future.

Of course, concerns of pride, liability, and identifying fellow officers in errors will hinder suc-cess of these “daily after-action analysis”, but self examinations of mistakes would lead to greater safety for fellow officers and the general public in the future.

This will also help “stigmatized” cops to cope with day to day violence in their lives, and maybe suffering already from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The public wants these trigger-happy and crazy cops immediately identified and outrightly dis-missed. They can start by firing “dishonest cops” who would be bigger criminals in the future, following the PNP’s “broken window” policy of preventing crime.

But on a larger view, equally dangerous is the “police corruption” and “conspiracies” on a “dis-trict”, “station” as well as “PCP level”. This is the height of “police insanity” that instigated a “culture of violence” within the PNP during the pre-Duterte years.

I remember in 2018, then NCRPO chief Gen Guillermo Eleazar now PNP Chief ordered the relief of powerful district police commanders including the police chiefs of Pasay, Taguig, Las Piñas and Caloocan in a very strong message of non-nonsense internal cleansing. That year, a mas-sive crime drop was registered in Metro Manila.

Today, PNP’s Intensified Cleanliness Policy is in full swing, correcting the small and minor prob-lems in the police service from recruitment into their day to day operations. No-nonsense cam-paign to rid kotong cops, pulis patola, and “few bad eggs” that destroy the entire organization.

Yes, very powerful promises by Gen. Eleazar but the country needs today a meaningful change in the Philippine National Police with a “culture of professionalism” with transparency, and ac-countability. This will definitely eliminate violence, corruption, abuse and power tripping in every cop’s mind.