Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), committed on Monday, May 6, to further strengthen the legal assistance to all policemen, especially those facing harassment cases in the the performance of their duty.
While the PNP has a good pool of lawyers, Marbil said there were instances in the past that police lawyers were no match to the lawyers from prestigious law firms during the court proceedings.
“What I am advocating right now is legal assistance. Ever since I became a policeman, I know that our personnel have been facing problems on legal assistance,” said Marbil.
In most cases, the worst part is that the policemen facing harassment cases would end up spending their own money to shoulder legal expenses.
The eagerness to hire good private lawyers are brought by the fear that they would end up losing their job and career.
“We have good lawyers but sometimes, they are not enough to face the attorney de campanilla. So with the help of the Deputy Chief for Operations (Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Peralta), we will help them,” said Marbil in his speech during the flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Monday.
Peralta is the president of the Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund Inc (PSMBFI), which has been the PNP’s partner in various programs and projects relating to the operational capability of the police.
Part of the plan, according to Marbil, is to tap the services of law firms to help policemen facing job-related harassment cases.
“This is the way we will go, we will not leave behind our fellow policemen,” said Marbil.