RESCUING THE IMAGE OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE: OUR NATION’S CHALLENGE

(By Hon. LEOPOLDO N. BATAOIL, Second District of Pangasinan)

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, I stand before this body, on a matter of personal and collective privilege, to invite the attention of the House on the hot issues of policemen’s involvement in illegal activities that is eroding the image of the PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP). Most of these controversial matters had recently appalled the country; among them the palpable rape committed by a police upon an alleged suspect within the very premises of the police station.
As a former member of the force, you can understand my sadness over this kind of news and its resultant perception on the image of the PNP- an institution that became my home, nay, almost an obsession for more than half of my life.
Under the circumstances, I am of the view that instead of taking these events negatively, I importune my fellow members in the House to consider this challenge besetting us as a catalyst in helping the PNP salvage its eroding image inasmuch as a the PNP is the ultimate bastion of a free civil society.
I am optimistic that this Privilege Speech will be instrumental in sending the message to all Filipinos all over the globe to unite in this effort of transformation rather than nurturing outright condemnation of the Philippine National Police.
With everyone’s help, including our friends in the media, instead of magnifying the mistakes of our PNP, I importune you all to highlight the tremendous efforts exerted by our police force, specially its leaders and officers, past and present, to provide a better life for its men in uniforms so that they will be equipped with all the support, be it moral or economical, vital in strengthening them in performing their vital task of maintaining public order, peace, and safety for all Filipinos.
To our beloved countrymen, I call upon you all to rally behind your PNP and its leaders during these trying times. Let us support the PNP leadership buoy up its eroding image and dwindling confidence level. There in no gainsaying that to further cast stones upon the PNP leadership, at this time, will be a self-fulfilling curse because weakening its morale will naturally strengthen the wicked forces, and when that happens, we will suffer altogether, without exception, no matter how hard we try to move forward as a country.
I therefore hasten to add that those aspiring to replace Chief Philippine National Police Raul Bacalzo should instead support him rather than pray for his relief. He was chosen as CPNP because of his outstanding record of service, among other candidates.
Apropos for purposes of illustrating this point is the movie “Clash of the Titans,” where the mortal son of the god Zeus embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens. As the plot goes, Hades, ruler of the Underworld took advantage of the time when humankind began to question the Gods by manipulating the humans to rebel further against their Gods, and for the latter into punishing them, as a result.
Such scenario was palpably a nefarious scheme aimed towards the downfall of mankind, and for the underworld and its minions to rule both Heaven and Earth.
In the same vein, it is the PNP, and ultimately, our people that suffer if they themselves contribute to the downfall of the PNP leadership. By so doing, wickedness would take over, akin to the foiled plot of Hades in the movie Clash of the Titans.
Let us, therefore, rally behind the CPNP specially during these trying times. I seize this opportunity, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, to remind our people that the Philippine National Police is, after all, the people’s protector of their aspirations of a free and prosperous country.
Accordingly, I submit before the Honorable fellow members of the House of Representative to support a Resolution immediately referring this matter to the appropriate committee of the House to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation so as to help the PNP leadership hurdle this big challenge now besetting it and extend all the assistance and support that we can muster in helping our country’s peace-keeping force transform the negative impression now hounding it and ensure that it remains to be a valiant institution truly worthy of public trust – for everybody’s sake.
Thank you.

Shokran!