Amid PNP image woes, Romualdez commends Marbil for pursuing 'much-needed reforms'
At A Glance
- House Speaker Martin Romualdez has hailed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for enforcing reforms which according to him has not been seen in the organization "in a very long time".
PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil
House Speaker Martin Romualdez has hailed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for enforcing reforms which according to him has not been seen in the organization "in a very long time".
"And we hope that this is the start of those much-needed reforms," Romualdez said in a statement Sunday, April 6.
The House leader joined other solons in commending PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil for acting swiftly in disciplining police officers allegedly involved in an extortion case and in relieving a station commander for command responsibility.
“General Marbil should be praised for taking prompt action on the extortion case allegedly involving at least eight members of the Eastern Police District (EPD) and in sanctioning the star-ranked district commander for what he described as ‘failure of leadership’,” Romualdez said.
“It is initiatives such as this that will make people restore their trust in our national police organization and in their local police forces,” he said.
The PNP under President Marcos had been trying to overturn its image from the previous Duterte administration, which had been smeared by the bloody war on drugs.
A House of Representatives-led investigation last year revealed details that the Duterte drug war was fueled by cash rewards that encouraged the killing of drug suspects. This slay-for-pay scheme caused the number of fatalities to shoot up to an alleged 30,000.
President Marcos is the direct predecessor of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte--currently being detained and tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands for crimes against humanity--served as chief executive from 2016 to 2022.
“The key here is leadership by example. There is no substitute for it. If a leader is transparent, honest, effective, efficient, and compassionate, his commanders and personnel down the line will follow and practice those values,” Romualdez underscored.
The House leader vowed that in terms of improving services, he and his colleagues would support reform initiatives in the PNP even to the extent of allocating more funds.
He says that one area of improvement in the police force is digitalization.