EDITORIAL - PNP misfits

It took eight years, but the filing of graft charges in court against four members of the police Traffic Management Group in Cebu should serve as fair warning to those who may be abetting carjacking. Last week the TMG members were charged with graft and falsification before the Sandiganbayan.

In the indictment, the Office of the Ombudsman said the four issued a vehicle clearance certificate for a 2002 Mitsubishi Strada belonging to the city government of Valencia in Bukidnon that was stolen in August 2004. It was found in December 2005 with tampered engine and chassis numbers, but it was covered by registration papers issued to a non-existent individual by the Land Transportation Office in Cebu City.

The LTO registration was based on a vehicle clearance certificate allegedly issued by the accused, attesting that the Strada was not on the list of stolen vehicles and that its engine and chassis numbers were not tampered. LTO and Philippine National Police officials should be on the lookout for similar activities across the country. Stolen vehicles cannot be sold without LTO documents, which require TMG clearance. When carjacking rings are broken up, authorities should also ferret out their accomplices in government agencies whose cooperation is indispensable in selling hot cars.

PNP officials should also look into reports that certain cops are allowing drug offenders to be acquitted by failing to attend court trials. Between July and December last year, 49 drug-related cases were dismissed in several courts nationwide because of police failure to pursue the cases, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Because of the PDEA report, 35 police officers have been recommended for indictment and dismissal from the service. While the cops might have simply been too lazy to attend the hearings, there is also the possibility that some of them might have been paid to lose interest in the cases.

These are just two of the ways by which unscrupulous police officers undermine law enforcement. The PNP hierarchy should dig deeper and ferret out more offenders. All misfits in the PNP should be purged.