Nartatez reminds PNP commanders to act quick even on cops' minor misconduct
Police Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., acting chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), directed all police commanders to immediately act on any form of misconduct of their men to prevent much serious problem in the future as he emphasized zero tolerance on any act that will compromise the integrity and professionalism of the police force.
Nartatez issued the order after it turned out that the police sergeant tagged in shooting of a female civilian and three fellow policemen, including the chief of police of Sibulan town in Negros Oriental, has administrative cases history.
The policeman, Police Staff Sergeant Bonifacio Saycon, had a previous administrative case on record for less grave neglect of duty after he allegedly failed to attend a court hearing in connection with a prior search warrant.
“This is what we have been saying about the necessity of commanders regularly upholding strict discipline and acting decisively on any misconduct of any personnel under their direct supervision,” said Nartatez.
“Minor infractions in disciplinary mechanisms or any misconduct, no matter how small it is, must be immediately addressed to prevent any personnel from being involved in much serious offenses,” he stressed.
Nartatez emphasized that the incident involving Saycon is another reminder about the need to strengthen internal monitoring and disciplinary systems to ensure that personnel with prior administrative issues are closely supervised and, if necessary, removed from sensitive assignments.
He said an immediate audit is necessary to identify gaps in tracking and enforcement of administrative cases within the ranks, and to make sure that sanctions and corrective measures are properly implemented.
The PNP is currently reviewing how the suspect’s prior case was managed.
He explained that any form of misconduct, even if it small, that is addressed quickly would compel any uniformed personnel to behave and prevent them from engaging in any serious offense in the future.
Quick action, he said, sends a strong message that any form of misconduct is not acceptable and is not tolerated.
Saycpn is currently facing numerous criminal charges, including the death of all four people he allegedly shot.