FINDING ANSWERS
Former Senator
Atty. Joey Lina
Many are hoping the twin killings in Paniqui, Tarlac that sparked so much public outrage when a mother and her son were gunned down in cold blood by a policeman would finally lead to substantial reforms.
Unless significant corrective measures are finally put in place to prevent similar tragedies, the senseless deaths of Sonya and Frank Gregorio at the hands of Police Sergeant Jonel Nuezca would just be reduced to mere statistics. On the other hand, the horrific crime involving a trigger-happy cop could trigger significant reforms in our police force.
The tears shed during the burial last Sunday would never be enough to wash away the sorrow of the victims’ anguished loved ones crying out for justice. Nor could the tears wash away the misery felt by good men and women of the Philippine National Police whose public image inevitably takes a beating every time a rogue cop goes on a rampage.
Nor could such tears wash away the misery of the Filipino people whose trust has been shattered by those who are supposedly sworn to serve and protect.
The anger felt by many of us shocked by the gruesome shootings recorded on cellphone video would eventually subside as we move on, and we are to be jolted anew by another horrific event in the future. In a civilized society, such a pattern is undoubtedly disturbing as people become more desensitized to the violence all around and the increasing number of “isolated” cases.
That people become desensitized to the seeming impunity all around isn’t surprising, amid countless incidents of law enforcers turned lawbreakers, of abusive policemen who prey on hapless citizens some of whom die while in police custody.
Our country has been saddled for so long with a police force suffering from a sullied image, lawmen who betray the trust bestowed on them when they are armed and equipped to uphold the law, cops who make a mockery of their sworn commitment when they become criminals themselves.
Of course, most men and women in uniform remain loyal to their sworn commitment to serve and protect, put their lives on the line, always strive to enforce the law with utmost professionalism, and would not tolerate colleagues who go astray.
Yet while it’s true that scalawags might constitute just a small minority of the PNP, the grim reality is that they can shape public perception or even subvert the criminal justice system. Indeed, the impact on public perception of the bad eggs can unfairly depict the entire basket to be rotten.
It is obvious that substantial reforms are urgently needed. Our senators have urged a host of measures – more rigid psycho tests, creating an Alcatraz-like prison for heinous crime convicts, imposition of death penalty, etc.
I agree with Sen. Panfilo Lacson who said the PNP leadership must show no mercy for Nuezca. “They should spare no effort to make sure that he rots in jail. He's the last policeman that they need in the force,” Sen. Lacson said, adding that policemen should leave their firearms in their unit’s armory when they go off-duty.
That the PNP must do some soul-searching as proposed by Sen. Nancy Binay is also a good point. “Maybe it’s high time to enhance value formation in the PNP, including a reorientation to emphasize the value of human life, because that seems to be what’s lacking in the PNP right now. And for me, perhaps it would be good to run more frequent psychological tests on our police,” she stated.
The National Police Commission can do a lot in restoring public confidence in the PNP. It can utilize to the hilt its power of “motu proprio” investigation and act swiftly on cases involving policemen, including preventive suspension to protect witnesses from possible retaliation.
The cop involved in the twin killings had a string of administrative cases including two cases of grave misconduct involving homicide prior to the shooting in Tarlac. Many believe that authorities could have done more to prevent the Tarlac tragedy, simply by “fixing broken windows.”
The “broken windows” theory explains that vandals who see an abandoned building with a few broken windows decide to break more until all are destroyed and the whole building is in shambles. The theory on criminality and disorder has this premise: Minor crimes, if left unnoticed, will eventually escalate into bigger, more serious crimes.
Urgent reforms should focus on essential factors like screening and selection of police recruits, education and training, values formation, periodic evaluation to determine continuing physical, emotional, mental, and moral fitness – to ferret out bad eggs. The recruitment process should ensure shady characters are kept out, and pre-employment screening, as well as continued evaluation of those accepted into the PNP ought to spot red flags that must not be ignored.
It was Robert Kennedy who once said, “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves… every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.” And we Filipinos must insist on what government is duty-bound to provide – the most basic of services: maintaining peace and order and ensuring the safety of every citizen at all times.
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