FOLLOWING President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he plans to revive the Ameri-can-inspired Philippine Constabulary (PC), the reactions, especially the non-conformist views, have been varied and, at times, ambivalent.
But is there really a need to revive a law enforcement agency that was once associated with a dictatorial regime?
Martial law victims have voiced their united opposition to the call, even as certain sectors argue the issue is not about an institution’s name.
Historically, the PC, created primarily to run after the Filipino revolutionaries and later tasked to run after cattle rustlers, had a key part of the government’s anti-insurgency campaign. During the pre-war years, it played a significant role in the country’s de-fense. It was only during martial law that it was prostituted to serve the ends of tyran-ny.
Is it really necessary and urgent to recreate an old institution to solve the nagging problem of police scalawags? Is this really the solution the country needs to bring back sanity to the image of our country’s law enforcement agencies?
As it is now, the country’s law enforcement needs, both external and internal, depend largely on the capability of the 300,000-strong joint AFP-PNP elements. That’s about one law enforcer for every 350 Filipinos. But it’s not in numbers that public satisfaction resides.
The plan to revive the PC, on the excuse of dissolving the PNP, is an expensive propos-al. The rogues in uniform have prospered not because of institutional defects but be-cause there is a breakdown in the way regulations are executed and the penalties im-posed.
A pervasive problem that has been conveniently overlooked is the use of law enforcers as private guards of politicians. This uneasy arrangement of public officials having con-trol over cops and soldiers has created a distorted culture of loyalty. The practice has developed a prostituted sense of loyalty among policemen who look up to padrinos as lifesavers.
The problem of having rogue cops in the PNP is actually due to a number of factors: the failure to discipline scoundrels, defects in the recruitment process where corruption thrives because applicants rely on strong political alliance and padrinos, and the influ-ence of crooked officer models.
The PNP should be retained. By adopting a more rigorous recruitment standard, proper training on values and discipline, fair system of assignment and promotions, and inter-nal cleansing of the police organization will produce positive results. (Johnny Dayang)