EDITORIAL - Invincible

Twice dismissed from the service, way back in 2001 and 2002, Ricardo Pascua continued working in the Philippine National Police and receiving a paycheck from Juan de la Cruz. And he could have continued doing so for the next 10 more years if he had not blocked last July 17 a convoy of vehicles, which happened to be transporting the President of the Philippines.

Probably believing – with good reason – that he was invincible, Pascua refused to give way to the presidential convoy, telling the lead police escorts that he was a cop. When Pascua, who holds the rank of special police officer 2, was finally taken in for questioning by his PNP colleagues, he was found to be driving without a license and keeping a siren in his Asian utility vehicle, whose license plates were improperly displayed. Worse, police found that Pascua was dismissed from the service on June 30, 2001 on charges of robbery-extortion, and again on Dec. 10, 2002, on a separate charge of grave misconduct.

Reports said Pascua appealed the second case, and he was reinstated without back wages in December 2008 by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which has jurisdiction over the PNP. But his dismissal in the first case was affirmed way back in 2004, and there are no reports so far that the dismissal has been reversed. Is anyone in the PNP keeping track of these dismissal orders? How Pascua managed to remain in the service raises concern over how well the PNP keeps track of its members.

The problem is worrisome particularly because many crimes have been perpetrated by members of the police and military who have been dismissed or listed as AWOL, or by gangs led by such individuals. An efficient tracking system for all PNP and Armed Forces members, including firearms issued or personally owned by them, could help deter crime. The case of Pascua should lead to the identification of loopholes in the system that need to be plugged at once.