Internal or external

SHOULD the body tasked to investigate erring police officers be internal or external to the Philippine National Police (PNP)?

The Internal Affairs Service (IAS), a unit in the PNP, per­forms such function. It believes that it can be more effective in performing its mandate if it will be operationally and financially independent from the PNP and be given adjudicatory powers.

Currently, the IAS only makes recommendation to the PNP leadership, particularly the PNP Chief, on administrative actions that may be taken regarding infractions of police officers.

The recent controversies involving the PNP, including its leadership, obviously prompted the Senate Blue Ribbon Com­mittee as well as the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights to suggest for an IAS that is external to the PNP to avoid the negative ef­fect of the strong fraternal bond that binds police officers, particularly the extending of unethical, improper and illegal favors and accommodations by PNP leaders to classmates and subordinates.

The PNP leadership, on the other hand, asserts that the status quo should be main­tained because an IAS that is part of the PNP organization provides the values of better communications, more effec­tive coordination, and stronger culture of organizational ac­countability.

Is this issue simply a mat­ter of having an IAS that is either internal or external to the PNP?

Can’t the IAS remain to be part of the PNP organization and have its actions immune from the negative effects of the fraternal bond among po­lice officers?

Such is clearly an ideal setup because the values of an “in­ternal” IAS can be realized without sacrificing the core mandate of the unit.

This ideal setup can only work if the PNP Chief – who will eventually act on the rec­ommendations of the IAS – will subordinate the fraternal bond of police officers to the greater interests of faithfully perform­ing the PNP’s mandates and of effectively serving the inter­ests of the public.

The “honest” PNP Chief that President Rodrigo Duterte wants is one who can make the IAS an effective internal “police” in this law enforce­ment agency. An honest PNP Chief will stick to what is right, proper, ethical and legal even if it means “suffering” for a brother or friend.

The issue is not really hav­ing an IAS that is internal or external to the PNP. The real issue here is having a PNP Chief who is honest in serving the public.