Hazing may be part of PNP systemic tradition

The reported recommendation for the filing of administrative charges against two police and three non-commissioned officers of the Regional Mobile Group may have actually uncovered a can of worms – a systemic mindset of “hazing” among instructors and trainers of the PNP.

This was gathered Thursday when regional police director Isagani Cuevas told mediamen that tactical officers and instructors are fully aware that “hazing is not allowed, yet they continue to practice it.”

“Tradition or no tradition, we are not allowing it,” was how Cuevas put it.

Superintendent Zacharias Canieso, 6th Regional Mobile Group director, recommended the filing of administrative charges against two police inspectors. He also included three non-commissioned officers for grave misconduct and neglect of duty in connection with the alleged matreatment of 51 policemen and policewomen undergoing a Special Counter-Insurgency Course at Camp Aniceto Lacson in Victorias City.

The officers recommended to be charged with grave misconduct are Inspector Stephen Somosot and Police Officers I Cherryl Lacson, Jean Hiponia, and Joemarie Arboleda. Inspector Dianne Grace Aquitania is up for a charge of neglect of duty.

Canieso added that they may also recommend the filing of criminal charges against the five tactical officers and instructors for violation of the anti-hazing law.

A PNP regional medical team dispatched here by Cuevas found out that 51 of the 242 SCOUT trainees, 22 of them women, had hematomas and contusions on their legs, buttocks, and thighs, which were allegedly inflicted on them by their instructors and tactical officers.

Aquitania did not participate in the “hazing” but reportedly did not try to stop the maltreatment of the police neophytes, the report disclosed.

Arboleda, a trainee himself, was reportedly included in the grave misconduct charge because he also participated in the “hazing” of his fellow trainees on orders of his instructors, Canieso reported.

But Arboleda also suffered hematoma and contusions on his legs and buttocks because of beatings from his instructors, Canieso said.

The reported wholesale “hazing” of many of the police trainees at the RMG headquarters triggered a scandal among Negrenses.

Canieso said another batch of instructors is still undergoing investigation in connection with the incident and may be included in the list of respondents in the “hazing” scandal.

They include Police Officers I Annie Rosa Tupaz, Ma. Lowelyn Moises, Marife Catomayo, Rhea Basa, Rhisa Onate and Rowena Pimentel.

Two years ago, three RMG police instructors were also suspended for several months for a similar incident, inflicting injuries on neophyte policemen taking the same course.

What seems serious is that policewomen themselves seem to have succumbed to the “hazing” mindset, too.

Meanwhile, just being a police officer is not a guarantee that one cannot be the target of a swindling scheme by budol-budol practitioners.

This was learned recently by Kabankalan police chief Calixto Mabugat who was almost hoodwinked by somebody who passed himself off as police Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the PNP directorate for police relations.

Bataoil, when contacted by local media, also said 10 senior police officers had informed him that a syndicate using his name had almost victimized them. Bataoil, incidentally, had served as Negros Occidental police director and is well respected in the province.

The person who introduced himself as Bataoil reportedly asked for help ranging from P20,000 to P50,000 for a policeman suffering from a heart ailment.

The suspect even persisted in asking Mabugat on Thursday to send the money as soon as possible through Western Union.

What roused Mabugat’s suspicion was that unintelligible text messages, which included his and Bataoil’s alleged restricted phone line and cellphone numbers. But the caller also earlier had asked the desk officer about his complete name and middle initial.

Bataoil said he had already issued a memorandum to all police community relations offices nationwide to be cautious about the new budol-budol scheme.

Actually this is not the first time such attempts had been made. Several years back, Negros Occidental police chiefs also received phone calls asking for contributions to alleged PNP projects from somebody who identified himself as Gen. Ding Reyes.

Bataoil said the police had also intercepted solicitation letters that used the names of former PNP chiefs Hermogenes Ebdane, Arturo Lomibao, and Oscar Calderon in extortion activities.

That simply shows you that swindlers will not hesitate to tag anybody in their efforts to victimize people, including, of course, police officers.

Well, this serves as a lesson and a warning to everyone. Of course, the most common method is to notify one of having won a big sum in a nationwide raffle or project and then asking for the ATM of the potential victim or asking him to send money as deposit for certain expenses in claiming the supposed prize.

They’ll never stop doing it with so many gullible individuals around.