Amid two contrasting statements made recently, many Filipinos are wondering which to believe. Is it the Philippine National Police (PNP) or the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)?
In a press briefing last Jan. 13, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said “there appears to be a grand conspiracy to conceal a criminal enterprise within the PNP.” He made the stunning remark as 30 police officers were criminally charged over the P6.7 billion shabu seizure that happened in Manila more than two years ago.
“Again, I must reiterate, there seems to be a grand conspiracy to conceal a criminal enterprise. Tingnan ninyo iyong kaso, from sergeant to chief PNP, kasama lahat sa kuwento,” Remulla stressed in response to a follow-up query from Malacañang Press Corps president Chona Yu.
The very next day, an official statement from Camp Crame said: “The Philippine National Police firmly denies allegations of a ‘grand conspiracy’ within its ranks and reaffirms its zero-tolerance policy for misconduct.”
The opposing statements have left many perplexed over which side holds the truth. Of course, the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But in the so-called court of public opinion, the reverse often happens—one is guilty until proven innocent. Such a reality might be grossly unfair, but that’s the reality of human nature.
Should people be faulted for their distrust of the police? Public skepticism towards the PNP isn’t unfounded. Past scandals—involving killer cops who went on a rampage using the “nanlaban” narrative and “ninja cops” who recycled seized drugs during the Duterte administration’s drug war—have deeply eroded trust.
Thus, it’s no surprise that in the “court of public opinion” which never adjourns, where judgments are swift and harsh, the image of the PNP is taking a beating anew. The recent indictments against police officers that included two generals, for alleged violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act (RA 9165), concerned “staged” anti-drug operations involving Police Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo.
The Manila RTC has issued arrest warrants for charges of “delay and bungling in the prosecution of drug cases” and for the non-bailable offense of “planting of evidence” against the accused police officers. But charges were dismissed against one of the police generals for “lack of probable cause.”
That incident relating to the seized 990 kilos of shabu in October 2022 had prompted then Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, in a seemingly desperate attempt to cleanse the PNP of scalawags, to demand courtesy resignations from all police colonels and generals.
Prior to that scandal, the PNP’s image was tainted many times before with serious offenses, like the grisly killing of a Korean in 2017. That the kidnap and eventual murder of business executive Jee Ick-joo can happen right inside Camp Crame, near the office of the PNP chief, speaks volumes on the level of impunity of some cops who have no qualms trashing their sworn commitment to serve and protect.
“What have we done to deserve this?” asked Jee’s wife as she anguished over what happened: The police raiding team stole P450,000 from their house in Pampanga, got P5 million in ransom, and then demanded P4.5 million more even as her husband was already killed, with his cremated remains flushed down the toilet.
“A crime of this nature can only be the byproduct of a climate of impunity and public timidity that—in the name of the so-called war on drugs—has normalized abduction and the raiding of homes, and has made killing an everyday thing,” prominent sociologist and columnist Randy David wrote.
And there were many other violent incidents that tainted the PNP image during Duterte’s bloody drug war, including the killings of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, and 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman whose common fate sparked immense public outrage and strengthened the perception that some policemen are cold-blooded murderers.
Of course, the PNP’s sullied image is grossly unfair to good cops. The exemplary men and women of the PNP who truly serve and protect, who always strive to enforce the law with utmost professionalism, who put their lives on the line, certainly do not deserve a demoralizing image.
Although rogue cops might be just a miniscule minority in the 228,000-strong PNP, the sad reality is that they have the capacity to shape public perception. The impact of bad eggs on the general public’s perception of the police can depict, albeit unfairly, the entire basket to be rotten.
Do Filipinos deserve a police force with a tarnished reputation? Is public timidity partly to blame for the impunity of rogue cops?
“Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on,” the late US statesman Robert Kennedy once said.
If trust in the PNP is to be restored, sweeping reforms, unwavering accountability, transparent and no-nonsense investigations, are non-negotiable. Sans these, the PNP’s image will remain battered in the unyielding court of public opinion.
