A Traveller Again

I didn't expect that after a year of saying goodbye to traveling rural areas to implement programs for the poor, I'll be back on that same road.

Just two days ago I was in General Santos City to observe the conduct of our Desk Office in the implementation or delivery of the various products the company is providing. I was able to have a hands-on experience on the marketing of our programs to prospected MSMEs in Region XII.

I will be doing those similar activities once I'll be in Cagayan de Oro manning the Desk Office on the second week of November this year.

I do hope that I'll be performing well and I can deliver good results.

On Being A Police Officer

“I want to be a police officer someday!”

Undeniably, one of the most familiar statements which can rekindle once our Grade School memories.

Today, the same avowal and degree of fervor are observable among elementary pupils when asked by their teacher-adviser about their aspirations in live. Unaware, however, of the difficulty to sign up in the police force.

Long time ago, according to my lolo, you can be a police chief and officer if you are close to the mayor. The selection of the town's police force rested upon the mayor's discretion then. They were, however, co-terminus with the appointing official, unless re-deputized by the succeeding alkalde.

These deputies were commissioned to keep the town peaceful and to protect the constituents from the any rebel attacks, which were rampant in those days.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) was born as an independent police force of the country in December 13, 1990 under Republic Act No. 6975 to professionalize its rank. It ended the existence of the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police.

With the effectivity of Republic Act No. 8551, otherwise known as the “Philippine National Police Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998,” the PNP was envisioned to be a community and service oriented agency. As such, rigid selection procedures are placed. More trainings to improve the capability of its personnel are conducted.

Nonetheless, a story has been concocted about its hard-and-fast admission policy. An applicant, who was an inch short of the required height, was told by the screening officer to grow an inch and to come back later. The following day, he returned and brought with him a large box full of mud crabs. He stood atop the box and was admitted. Very funny!

Gone are days of parents telling their child “Magpulis na lang ka kay wa mi igong panginabuhi i-suporta nimo sa college” upon his high school graduation. Only college graduates, National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) examination passers and Civil Service Commission (CSC) eligibles can join the rank.

Sadly, an applicant today, though eligible, needs Padrenos, an influential congressman, governor, mayor ninong, relative or friend, to get enlisted.

Yet numerous individuals still troop to become officers amids the troublesome search for reliable sponsor(s) and the expensive choice of gifts for the screening officer. The higher the gifts' value, the higher the chances, they quipped.

Besides, the battle to enlist is too intense than the tactical training they will undergo or their effort to fight crime, which they ought to curve. The number of felony is still unabated.
What's in it being a police officer, anyway?

Being in the PNP is tantamount to having a lucrative business. It has its own rugs-to-riches stories to share and secret millionaires to blazon. Left-and-right exposes about protectors of prostitution dens, illegal drugs and gambling are among the mundane stories TV and prints have to offer us daily; testaments of the business profitability. You add to the unending list, kutong cops who proliferates on the streets, public markets, etc. juicing the public, particularly the legitimate micro-businesses, jeepney drivers etc.

Being a police officer is the only alternative stable and generously paying job, apart from teaching. Or it is the only available job specially in the provinces.

The harsh reality in the provinces is many college graduates and CSC eligibles are left with no choice after umpteen attempts to be hired by the government, which in return employs them as job-orders or casuals, and by the private sector, which offers meager income insufficient to support an individual needs.

Glenn Uy worked as loan officer in a certain bank in Mindanao but resigned and joined PNP for he could no longer support the need of his family especially that they already have a daughter to care.

While after years of ferreting for job, a certain lady with a below average scholastic record and unfit for the service due to her chronic asthma attacks, was admitted through the aegis of a prominent politician.

Lastly, being in the force is a profession. It is a dedication to serve and protect the people and the republic.

No wonder many universities and colleges across the country have ballooning criminology student populations. Aside from the unfaltering interest of many to enroll in the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA). They are our pool of responsible and committed future police officers.

The question, perhaps, on the continued pilgrimage of people to PNP's recruitment centers has already been answered.

We appreciate people who chose the profession out of despondency to find other job but are never derelict in their duties.

We applaud and highly regard those who left their job to find a “greener pasture” in the PNP and are not remiss in the discharge of their functions.

We are deeply grateful to all police officers who remains professional, steadfast and true to their mandate as protector of the people and the Constitution. We are very proud and SALUTE you!

And we strongly condemn cops who use their authority to aggrandize themselves and to impugn peoples' basic and constitutional rights.