Mendoza vows total drive vs jueteng

Newly appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Leandro Mendoza vowed yesterday to clamp down on jueteng, for which deposed leader Joseph Estrada got impeached.
Mendoza, who replaced longtime Estrada ally Director General Panfilo Lacson, also vowed to reform the police force, widely consi-dered as one of the most corrupt government agencies in the country.

Asked by reporters about his stand on jueteng, Mendoza said: "Jueteng is still illegal. We are going to pursue jueteng (operators) in accordance with the law."

Estrada was put on trial in the Senate, and witnesses in his graft hearing had testified he had set up a nationwide protection racket based around jueteng.

His chief accuser, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Singson, a former drinking buddy, had confessed to being the bagman and recounted how he delivered attaché cases full of money to Estrada’s home.

Prosecutors also claimed Estrada maintained secret bank accounts at Equitable PCI Bank controlled by a businessman friend, George Go, through which he allegedly laundered the dirty money.

The Senate impeachment court adjourned without a verdict last week after its members voted to suppress potentially damning evidence linking Estrada to a secret bank account worth under the name "Jose Velarde."

Public outrage erupted, triggering massive street protests that culminated in Estrada’s removal from office on Saturday.

Mendoza, the former chief of the PNP’s transnational crime center, also vowed the operation of his office would be transparent.

He said he would also take up with the executive department the possibility of abolishing the elite Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), which used to report directly to Estrada.

Human rights groups have complained that the task force committed excesses in its drive against criminality.

The entire police organization would also be ordered to step up its battle against international criminal syndicates, including computer hackers, money launderers and terrorists, Mendoza said.

The new police chief said there would be no let-up in the "disciplinary" policies of Lacson, such as requiring all policemen to have at most a 34-inch waistline, and that he would pursue his predecessor’s recommendation for "warrantless arrests."

But unlike Lacson, Mendoze said that major reforms and reassignments will be based on performance and qualifications.

"Of course we will continue General Lacson’s good programs, which have projected positive ratings for the PNP," Mendoza said.

He said it was important to consolidate the police force, and not have other task forces like the PAOCTF and the anti-narcotics unit operating under the executive branch.

A revamp, however, seems inevitable "to correct the wrongs of the past leadership," he said. Mendoza was referring to Lacson’s failure to observe the principle of seniority whereby many senior officers were bypassed by junior officials perceived to be loyal to Lacson.

Deputy Director General Reynaldo Wycoco, a year senior to Mendoza and also considered for the top police post, described the new police chief as "a good, effective leader ... a professional," and that "the morale of the police service is high."