Worried PNP chief orders book thrown at abusive cops

No less than the head of the Philippine National Police on Thursday admitted being worried over several incidents of abuse involving police officials in past weeks. PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said they are working on long- and short-term solutions – starting with the arrest and prosecution of erring cops. "In the last six weeks, we have seen many of our own men involved in at least eight index crimes. This is a cause for worry, and our National Headquarters will analyze the incidents and come up with appropriate measures," Bacalzo said in Filipino in an interview aired on dzBB. Among the incidents of abuse was the fatal shooting of a town police chief in Nueva Ecija province by his own deputy on New Year's Day. Killed was Talavera town police head Superintendent Ricardo Dayag Jr., who was shot dead by his deputy Inspector Bernardo Castro. The two had an argument where the allegedly drunk Castro shot Dayag dead. Castro fled but eventually surrendered. One of the latest incidents involved PO3 Antonio Bautista Jr., who was accused of raping a 30-year-old vendor inside the headquarters of the Manila Police District. Bacalzo said the PNP's long-term plan is to screen out potential bad apples in the PNP by toughening up the background investigation of police applicants. Part of this will be a thorough neuro-psychiatric and psychological tests, and adjustments in the police personnel's training and environment. "Sa short-term, aking ipinag-utos sa police commanders ang agarang pag-address, pag-aresto, pag-file ng kaso, at pagpakulong (For the short term, I have ordered all police commanders to address the problem by throwing the book at abusive cops; charge and jail them if found guilty)," he said. Bacalzo also reassured the public that despite the bad eggs in the PNP, majority of its 135,000 personnel are dedicated to their jobs. "The rest of the 135,000 policemen, malaki pa rin ang porsyento ng kapulisan na gumagawa ng mabuti para sa ating kababayan," he said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV