EDITORIAL – A boy’s dream

The nation’s heart goes out to six-year-old Joe Allan Mendoza, who was "commissioned" the other day as a police officer 1 of the Philippine National Police. That’s the starting rank for regular cops, whose first duties include pounding the beat. Joe Allan, unfortunately, does not have enough energy to patrol even his own neighborhood. The boy is afflicted with leukemia, and his commissioning was the PNP’s way of granting the most fervent wish, if only for a day, of an ailing six-year-old.

An interviewer asked the boy: Why did he want to become a cop? Because he wanted to fight the bad guys, the boy said without hesitation; he had clearly thought that one out. And he clearly enjoyed the ride on a police motorcycle as well as the fanfare that greeted his commissioning at Camp Crame. He saluted his superiors as smartly as he could and wore his police uniform with pride.

That pride should remind the PNP of the glory days of the police ser-vice, when the public held cops in such high esteem, when little boys still bragged that they would become policemen when they grew up. In those days people stopped when accosted by uniformed cops instead of fleeing in fear of a shakedown or worse. People looked up to cops for protection, not extortion or bullying. And people had confidence that cops could solve crimes, arrest suspects and keep them locked up.

In recent years the PNP has slowly recovered some of that public trust. People are reporting crimes and turning to the police once again for help. There has been some success in efforts to speed up police response to emergency calls. Police visibility is improving.

Even top PNP officials, however, admit that much remains to be done. Mainly due to budget constraints, police presence still leaves much to be desired. There are still many people who do not report ransom kidnappings. The PNP must continue to be purged of the corrupt, inept and downright criminal. Police Office 1 Joe Allan Mendoza should serve as an inspiration for reform in the PNP. Like the six-year-old boy, the public should be able to get its wish: a clean and efficient police service.