EDITORIAL — A new man in the PNP (Latest Sabong News)
The Philippine National Police changed leadership yesterday amid an ongoing purge targeting officers linked to drug trafficking. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin bowed out of the PNP just days after finding himself entangled in controversy over a raid that yielded 990 kilos of shabu, of which 42 kilos were allegedly pilfered by the police raiders.
The PNP also continues to face unresolved accusations of serious abuses in the so-called war on drugs waged by the previous administration. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., the new PNP chief, will have to carry out the preferred approach of the Marcos administration to the drug scourge, which is less bloody and does not openly encourage police to shoot first and ask questions later.
Acorda, a native of Ilocos Norte who reaches the retirement age of 56 this December, will also have to allay public concerns about a seeming deterioration of peace and order amid a string of brazen assassinations targeting mostly politicians and, in one daring attack in Metro Manila, a broadcaster. An encouraging aspect is that perpetrators have been arrested or identified in several of the cases including the murders of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and radio commentator Percy Lapid. But much more is needed to end the impunity in committing murder in this country.
Within the PNP, Acorda will also have to deal with reports of simmering unrest over a proposal to cut and overhaul the retirement pensions and benefits of military, police and other uniformed personnel. President Marcos, for his part, reportedly instructed Acorda to exercise maximum tolerance in dealing with government critics.
Acorda, whose last posting was as PNP intelligence chief, is aware of the long festering problems in the police organization. Since its creation, the PNP has become tainted by scandals linking its members including former PNP chiefs to large-scale corruption. Lower ranking cops, meanwhile, have been implicated in a wide range of criminal activities including protection rackets and murders related to e-sabong, jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling.
Housecleaning is a constant challenge within the PNP, even as it carries out its principal mandate of keeping the public safe. These are best carried out with public trust and confidence in the PNP, from its chief down to the new recruits.
