And so it began.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) launched on Thursday, May 27, what it vowed to be a corruption-free and influence-peddling-free recruitment of the more than 17,000 rookie cops for this year alone.
Dubbed as Comprehensive Online Recruitment Encrypting System (CORES), the project is a brainchild of PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar who initiated the QR Code system in the recruitment system when he was still the director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
“Gusto na po nating tuldukan ang bulok na sistema ng iilang aplikante na kumakapit sa matataas na opisyal ng PNP at ilang ma-impluwensyang tao para lamang makapasok sa organisasyon. Sa ganitong sistema, may korapsyon na kaagad eh. Iyan ang hindi natin hahayaang makapasok sa ating hanay (We want to put an end to a rotten culture of applicants who would seek backing from PNP officials and other influential people just to enter the organization. In this system, there is an instant corruption. We will not allow this),” Eleazar said.
The padrino system (use of infuential backers) is the reason, according to Eleazar, why a number of policemen in the past were involved in various criminal activities that include robbery, extortion and kidnapping. Some of them would even se illegal drugs.
He explained that such bad practice paved the way for the entry of misfits as those who are idealistic and are supposed to be the ones being recruited are being eased out in favor of those who have what he called 'reseta'.
What is 'reseta'?
Reseta is a Filipino word which refers to the prescription given by doctors to their patients. It connotes assurance of healing.
But in the police lingo, it refers to the letter of endorsement of influential people, particularly those occupying high positions in the government, that is attached to the application documents of police applicants.
In the past, these endorsement letters serve as an assurance that a police applicant would be chosen.
Police sources that there were cases in the past that the number of applicants with endorsement letters would exceed the number of slots for fill-up in the PNP. As a result, competition also arises among those with backers. The higher the position of the backer in the government, the better the chance that a police applicant is guaranteed of hiring.
Unli-call
Aside from reseta, senior officers of the PNP would also experience receiving calls from government officials to ensure the hiring of their relatives or constituents.
The calls usually happen a few days before the selection process of the applicants.
In one of the interviews with Eleazar two years ago, this reporter chanced upon a personal call of a town mayor who asked him to prioritize the selection of his constituent who was among the police applcants.
Eleazar politely declined the request but assured the caller that his constituent would be given a fair play in the selection process.
QR Code
In order to ensure that any member of the selection committee would not tamper with the result of the performance tests, each applicant is assigned with a QR Code which makes it difficult to alter the results of the tests.
"Under this recruitment scheme, a QR Code System will be used to ensure the concealment of the identity of the applicant. Only the applicant’s qualifications will be evaluated in determining if he/she will be accepted in the police force," said Eleazar.
"We will only accept those police applicants who are most qualified and most deserving. Only the best for the PNP. Walang mukha o pangalang lalabas habang ongoing ang application process at tanging ang credentials niya lamang ang pagbabasehan kung siya ba ay tanggap sa PNP (There will be no faces, or names during the aplication and selection process. Only the credentials would serve as the basis of the selection,” he added.
The QR Code System will be utilized in the entire application process of the applicant, including the Body Mass Index and agility test, drug and neuropsychiatric test, and physical, medical and even dental examinations.
Testimonial
During his assumption speech on May 7, Eleazar mentioned the name of Razy Joy Alejandrino who is now a Patrolwoman.
Alejandrino is a daughter of a poor family who was forced to work as a dishwasher and a janitress just to save money that she would use as expenses in the application for the PNP.
After she was selected and eventually took oath as a Patrolwoman three years ago, Alejandrino was quoted in an interview that she is a proof that she was among those who entered the PNP without a backer.
At least three hundred more applicants in the NCRPO were also chosen under the QR Code System with Alejandrino three years ago.
"Natupad na ang pangarap kong maging pulis, bakit pa ako lilihis ng landas (I already fulfilled my dream of being a policewoman, why would I got to the wrong path of police service)," Alejandrino was quoted saying during the interview.
Doubled salary
The entry level salary of Patrolman or Patrolwoman in the PNP is now almost P30,000--aside from various allowances that he or she enjoys. This, after President Duterte approved the doubling of the salary of soldiers and policemen to fulfill his campaign promise.
As a result, Eleazar said tens of thousands of applicants would submit their requirements every recruitment period.
During the last online career guidance for 49 colleges and universities across the country last week wherein Eleazar was a guest, more than 20,000 police applicants had logged in to know more about the PNP recruitment.
"If we have this chance to select the best and brightest for the PNP, why would we settle for those who would end up as scalawags?," said Eleazar.
"This is part of the long-term solution to finally professionalize the PNP and get rid of the organization of misfits as early as the recruitment period," he added.