EDITORIAL - Building trust

Trust your police, President Aquino urged the public the other day during the formal turnover of command at the Philippine National Police. Deputy Director General Raul Bacalzo took over an organization that has been the butt of public ridicule since a police officer dismissed for extortion hijacked a busload of tourists on Aug. 23 in Manila and the crisis ended with eight hostages dead.

The bungled response of the Manila Police District, once touted as Manila’s Finest, to the hostage crisis showed a glaring need for improvements not only in the performance of Special Weapons and Tactics teams but also in criminal investigation including evidence gathering and preservation. Since then the government has taken pains to reassure Filipinos and foreigners alike that many other units in the PNP, including the SWAT teams of other police districts in Metro Manila, have the necessary skills and equipment to deal effectively with a hostage situation and other threats to public safety.

The public’s doubts, as the President put it, about the capabilities of the PNP in the wake of the hostage crisis are on top of long-held perceptions that too many cops are engaged in crooked activities. If they’re not involved in petty extortion, they accept bribes or directly coddle organized crime rings. Cops have been implicated in carjacking, kidnapping, drug trafficking and jueteng operations. Before the hostage crisis, the Manila police was already embroiled in a scandal over a video showing a robbery suspect being tortured apparently at the police station in Asuncion, Tondo.

Even as the PNP continues its efforts to improve its image and upgrade the skills of its members, the civilian leadership should also do its part in improving police performance, by giving cops the necessary equipment and decent pay. Members of the judiciary are not the only public servants complaining about low salaries. The starting pay in the PNP is barely above the minimum wage. A study in the recent past showed that many cops live below the poverty line, unable to afford even decent housing.

Political meddling in promotions and assignments in the PNP has also contributed to mediocre police performance, with connections, including membership in religious organizations, rather than capability being the deciding factor in career advancement.

It will take more than a change in PNP leadership to cure the ills afflicting the police. If the nation wants a police force that can be trusted to perform its numerous tasks effectively, all concerned sectors must do their part.