EDITORIAL — They were never really afraid, never gone

In an interview regarding the alleged cover-up of a policeman’s arrest for being involved in drugs, Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa acknowledged that policemen who seize but then resell shabu, called ninja cops, are back.

“They are no longer afraid because Duterte is no longer president. They are making up for lost time. The ninja cops are recovering. We really need continuity. If you were strict in anti-drug policies, that should continue,” the senator said.

“The internal cleansing of the PNP should be a continuous process. First of all, we double the salary of police officers in order for them not to be tempted to engage in illegal activities, but they still get tempted,” he added.

In saying the above, De la Rosa seems to imply that things were better under the Duterte administration and that cops during that time didn’t dabble in the illegal. This isn’t accurate. Even during the term of the former president there were still cops who engaged in drugs, in kidnapping, in planting evidence, and even in extrajudicial killing.

He inadvertently makes the admission himself when he says the policemen were still tempted to do illegal activities even after their pay was doubled.

In short, even during De la Rosa’s term as PNP chief and former president Duterte’s stint, the cops who chose to do criminal activity were never really afraid, never gone. We can even say they were emboldened by the “punisher” image of the former president.

Of course, it should also be mentioned that policemen engaging in crime didn’t take place only during the term of the last president. Each administration has had its fair share of bad lawmen and police scandals.

But that aside, Senator De la Rosa is also right in saying that the cleansing of the PNP should be a continuous process.

While it began awkwardly when a government official asked for the resignation of some top police officials so their records can be better scrutinized, let’s hope it trickles down to those in the lower ranks. We say this because those in the lower ranks will stay on longer in the police force and are bound to cause more damage, before they themselves become police officials.

The police force is no place for criminals.