EDITORIAL - Do away with PNP, NBI clearances

If Albay Representative Joey Salceda could have his way, he wants employers to stop asking applicants to submit Philippine National Police or National Bureau of Investigation clearance as a requirement for employment.

Salceda cites the recent data breach where the information of a million people in the database of the police was allegedly compromised.

“Frankly, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies should not be in the business of storing the personal data of law-abiding citizens. And besides, that distracts from their law enforcement functions,” Salceda said in a news report.

While we agree with the suggestion of Salceda that PNP and NBI clearances should no longer be required by employers, we do so for different reasons not having to do with data breach.

First is that such a clearance does not really prove that the person doesn’t have or never had any criminal intent. Also, crimes can still be committed by someone even after he or she gets a police or NBI clearance.

It gets somewhat ridiculous; given that the “validity” of a police clearance is six months while that of the NBI is one year, it seems to provide a false assumption that the owner of such a clearance will be a “good” and “law-abiding” citizen for that length of time.

While it can be argued that such a clearance is proof that one hasn’t been in trouble with the law before, it really cannot vouch for future behavior.

Second, it assumes people cannot change for the better. We have a lot of people who spent time in jail or were charged for crimes but become better citizens eventually. Need proof? Some of them serve as our leaders.

It also unnecessarily discriminates against people who have made mistakes and paid for them in prison. When a person has difficulty finding a decent job because he has spent time in jail or has any derogatory police or NBI record, we can only imagine them gravitating back to a life of crime to support themselves or their family.

Such people --especially those who don’t belong to rich families or have political connections-- simply have no other choice.

Again, clearances are not definite indicators of future behavior and can cause unnecessary discrimination. It is high time to do away with them.