EDITORIAL - Catalysts for change

Hundreds of new officers are joining the military and police following the graduation ceremonies at the Philippine Military Academy and Philippine National Police Academy. In the coming months, as they are initiated into actual military and law enforcement duties, the young officers should also develop fresh ideas regarding their work. Like many government agencies, the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines need reforms. And young officers offer the best hope for new ways of doing business.

The coup fever has subsided, but corruption still bedevils the PNP and AFP. Measures have been implemented to bring transparency and accountability in procurement, but reforms are not yet widespread. Officers continue to find creative ways of going around public bidding requirements and other procurement rules. The PNP has not yet fully recovered from last year’s scandal involving a planned procurement of guns from Israel. Illegal gambling also continues to be a corrupting factor, with the killing of 13 men by a joint police-military team in Quezon last January linked to a jueteng turf war.

Both the PNP and AFP have scalawags involved in organized crime, either as protectors or direct participants. This involvement has derailed efforts to improve peace and order and eroded public trust in the military and police. The new officers, instead of allowing themselves to be recruited into these criminal activities, should be catalysts for change and a thorough cleanup in the AFP and PNP.

The young officers are also expected to be more open to the promotion of respect for human rights. President Aquino, the only son of two democracy icons, recently signed a landmark law providing compensation to human rights victims of the Marcos dictatorship. This should be accompanied by an aggressive effort to inculcate respect for human rights in the military and police.

The President and commander-in-chief should make it clear that in the AFP and PNP, as in other agencies of government, it cannot be business as usual. Change can start with the new officer corps.