EDITORIAL - Turf war

Now you have some idea of why kidnappers have stayed a step ahead of law enforcers. Last week a leader of the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang was arrested in Quiapo, Manila by members of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force or NAKTAF. Even before the applause could die down, there was a news leak that Faisal Marohombsar had implicated Interior Secretary Jose Lina Jr. and Philippine National Police chief Leandro Mendoza in the Pentagon’s activities. 

Suspicion about the source of the news leak naturally focused on the head of NAKTAF, Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, who has the most to lose if Mendoza gets a nine-month extension upon his scheduled retirement next month. Yesterday there was another news leak, this time directed at the NAKTAF camp. The arrest of Marohombsar, which was not coordinated with other police units, reportedly bungled a bigger anti-kidnapping operation in Mindanao. Another PNP group reportedly knew the whereabouts of Marohombsar but was waiting for him to lead the police to other kidnapping leaders.

President Arroyo has dismissed the allegations against Lina and Mendoza and commended the NAKTAF for the arrest of Marohombsar. She seems to be shrugging off the infighting in the PNP. Turf wars, after all, are nothing new among law enforcers. If it’s not one police unit fighting with another, it’s the PNP competing with the National Bureau of Investigation. Or it can be both the PNP and the NBI against the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Turf wars, however, can further set back an anti-crime campaign that already leaves much to be desired. Units and agencies competing to crack a sensational case refuse to share information and often resort to fall guys to beat their rivals. Sometimes competing units present different sets of suspects, all of whom later turn out to be the wrong guys. The public is then left with innocent persons wrongly accused, the real culprits on the loose and the case unsolved. Expect more of such problems to crop up as the leadership battle heats up in the PNP.