EDITORIAL - One rotten apple…

Policemen in Bulacan have arrested the leader of an armed gang that robbed a rice store in Bocaue, and, lo and behold, he turned out to be a policeman.

Investigators said it was Police Staff Sergeant Miguel Andrew Oñate, 34, assigned to the Tanuan Police in Batangas, who led four other men in robbing the store last August 23 as well as a softdrink warehouse last August 27.

Victims of the robberies have identified the suspect as the perpetrator; he has declined to comment on the accusations against him.

Those who arrested him are sure they have their man, and claimed that he turns criminal when he isn’t a cop.

“Pag day-off siya, doon gumagawa ng pangho-hold up kasama ang kanyang grupo,” a GMA online news report has Police Regional Office-3 director Police Brigadier General Ponce Rogelio Peñones as saying.

Again, we have to ask if it was a mistake by the former administration to increase the salaries of policemen. Because for some it doesn’t seem to have the desired effect; even with their substantial pay grade it seems that some of them are still tempted to look for money elsewhere, including criminal activities.

Again, we have to ask if the PNP is doing enough to keep people with criminal intent, background, or disposition from joining their ranks. Are there no red flags to alert screening authorities that someone who wants to join the police force might actually be one of the criminals he is supposed to catch?

Yet another “again”. We have to ask how many policemen out there are moonlighting as criminals. Not just those who commit armed robbery but are involved in other criminal activities, like dealing drugs or protecting drug dealers, for instance.

Yes, we still hold on to the belief that most police officers are honest and hardworking men and women, and that the scalawags and rotten apples are the exception rather than the rule. But, again, just like how one rotten apple can spoil the entire barrel, the act of one scalawag is enough to taint the name of the entire police organization.