NCRPO chief pushes plan vs corruption

A seven-pronged strategy to combat corruption in the Philippine National Police (PNP), especially among the rank and file, was proposed yesterday by National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco.

This strategy, Velasco said, includes granting salary increases or incentives to PNP personnel, implementing moral and spiritual recovery program, enforcement of discipline in the ranks and getting rid of police scalawags, initiating livelihood, mass housing and scholarship programs for cops and their dependents and providing strong support, especially from local government units and the private sector.

Velasco said that a survey conducted by the University of the Philippines Variates and CORPS Movement Foundation showed that a majority of Metro policemen live below the poverty line.

With the poverty threshold in Metro Manila now pegged at P8,877.30 monthly income, about 31.9 percent or 2,923 cops have actual take-home pays below P5,000 while 32.7 percent or 2,989 receive only up to P9,999, or barely above the threshold, the report said.

While 43 percent have household members who contribute to their monthly expenses, only 22.9 percent own their homes. Around 27.9 percent are just renting their residences while 13.4 percent are most likely to squat in government and private lands.

"It was an eye opener to learn about the sorry plight of Metro policemen," Velasco said.

He stressed that these basic realities must be factored in if President Arroyo will institute genuine reforms in the PNP as she has stated in her State of the Nation Address the other day.

"Getting rid of police scalawags or kotong cops either by dismissal through administrative and criminal charges is just one approach to cleansing the PNP," Velasco said, adding that the NCRPO has started various projects as part of the organization’s moral recovery program.

"We have started some programs and projects to address some problems but we cannot do it overnight. If we really want our country’s law enforcers to work harder, we must also provide them a decent living," he said.

He cited the Commodity Assistance for Military and Police Personnel-Ginintuang Masaganang-Ani (CAMPP-GMA), a livelihood program for the country’s soldiers and policemen, that is now benefiting policemen and their families.

"This noble undertaking among the Department of Agriculture, the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines must be institutionalized, supported and expanded to augment the income of the police and military personnel and their dependents and enhance their capacity to engage in enterprises that will help them attain food security in the household," he said.

The NCRPO has also launched a livelihood project through the assistance of four of the country’s big business groups - Philippines Inc., Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Exporters Confederation and Philippine Chamber training.

Velasco revealed that a Pulse Asia survey showed that around 30 percent of respondents said that they want cops to be godly, trustworthy, respectable and honorable, humane, lawful, and responsive to the public’s call for help.

But the same survey showed that the most undesirable traits the respondents see in policemen are their involvement in corruption and illegal activities, abusive behavior, immorality and vulgarity or lack of civility.