New Ilocos Sur cop chief: Pulis Patola’ now a myth

By Mar T. Supnad

CAMP QUIRINO, Bantay, Ilocos Sur — A seasoned city cop from Manila who is now the provincial police director here, said there is no more such thing as a “pulis patola,” a tag for provincial cops in the context of their supposed inexperience in handling big cases.

“Patola” or Luffa is a vegetable that is long and firm like a baton but is soggy inside when cooked.

Senior Supt. Jemar Modequillo, who had been assigned as station chief in different areas of the capital city, said he can honestly say that police officers in the provinces are no longer “second-class” members of the police force.

Modequillo said there are a lot of policemen in the provinces who “are even better in investigation, operation and office work than those detailed in Metro Manila.”

His assertion is based on the fact that when a police officer is based in Metro Manila, he or she is given a specific assignment and cannot be involved in other police work which would be assigned to separate units.

“When you are a police officer detailed in, for example, the investigation section, your job is to focus only in a homicide case,” explained Modequillo. “But in the province, an investigator can check all kinds of cases, killings, drugs, kidnapping, illegal gambling, etc.”

Thus, policemen in the provinces have a wider scope of work and experience in the field, said he said.

“You can’t call them ‘police patola’ anymore just because they’re assigned far from the metropolis,” said Modequillo.“For me, being a former chief of police for various stations in Manila, I can say that the policemen in the provinces are more skilled and rich in experience than those detailed in Metro Manila.”

He said that policemen in Manila will work only on the designated area of assignment, which has limited scope of work.