CEBU, Philippines – The new director of the Cebu City Police Office believes the proposal for a Magna Carta for law enforcers will benefit members of the PNP.
"We will be benefited by that. Actually, sauna ra na gi-propose and we've been waiting for that. Unta madayon na 'na para daghang benepisyo mapaabot sa atong kapulisan so that ug mga high-morale ning atong mga kapulisan, mas mapalambo ang ilang pag-perform sa ilang duties and responsibilities," said CCPO Director Mevin Ramon Buenafe.
Buenafe said it is about time that the government provides more benefits to the Philippine National Police to prevent experiencing, for instance, what Sr. Insp. Rolando Mendoza, the known hostage-taker has gone through.
Mendoza, who was sacked from his post owing to a criminal case he was facing, was shot dead after he went into a shooting rampage and killed eight Hong Kong nationals inside a bus last month.
"Dapat may mga proper procedures, naa ta'y mga in place na mga benepisyo para sa police para dili na sila kinahanglan mangita ug mga illegal na paagi para ma-improve 'yung kanilang pangita," the CCPO Director said.
Mendoza was demanding that he be reinstated so that he may be given with the benefits an organic policeman receives.
"Pag sakto ang mga benepisyo na ginahatag nato, kaning pulis nato, wala na'y laing hunahunaon kundi ayuhon lang ang iyang trabaho. Iyang benepisyo naa ra," he added.
The Magna Carta for Law Enforcers is being pushed by former Dangerous Drugs Board official Clarence Paul Oaminal to protect the authorities from harassments especially from drug lords and hardened criminals.
Oaminal said the case of the late Mendoza is an example of how unfair the present system is.
"Mendoza who was charged before the Office of the Ombudsman was transferred to Mindanao instead of having him stay in Metro Manila so he could effectively and intelligently answer and defend himself," Oaminal said.
He added that the transfer was even a violation of Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 6, Series of 2008, passed during the helm of now Senator Vicente Sotto of the guidelines on police witnesses.
The regulation prohibits the transfer of a police witness outside the region he is assigned, and considering that the illegal possession case filed against the complainant was in Ma-nila and the counter charge was in Manila also, he must have remained in Manila.
"The Magna Carta would categorically spell the rights of law enforcers against counter charges which are so easily concocted just to get even and to be used as leverage against the arresting officers," Oaminal stressed. (FREEMAN)