Militarizing the civilian police

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

By March Fianza

            It must have been after the peaceful Edsa event of 1986 when I first heard about an upcoming change in the image of the police. It was an idea that came up because of a Filipino experience under Martial Law where the Philippine Constabulary/ Integrated National Police (PC/INP) committed abuses.

True, in 1991 the idea came into fruition when the PC/INP that was previously merged was dissolved by RA 6975 which formed the new Philippine National Police (PNP). It is an armed police organization that is civilian in character.

This is mentioned in Section 2 (Declaration of Policy) of RA 6975 where it partly states “… effective delivery of the basic services to the citizenry through the establishment of a highly efficient and competent police force that is national in scope and civilian in character…”

It states further: “… Its national scope and civilian character shall be paramount. No element of the police force shall be military nor shall any position thereof be occupied by active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

But evenwhile RA 6975 was enacted, the PC/INP that was practically a military organization then became the backbone of the new PNP corps of officers. That is why the new PNP functioned like a military organization, even if those who became PNP heads stressed the civilian character of the organization.

Prior to the passage of RA 6975, the 1987 Philippine Constitution already mentioned under Section 6 of its General Provisions that “… the State shall establish and maintain one police force, which shall be national in scope and civilian in character...”

Although the PNP chiefs and their staff stressed the civilian character of the new PNP, the people still saw that they never really struggled to change to a truly civilian police organization to reflect the intention of the Constitution.

For example, I still read news accounts of PNP men being confined to barracks, placed under summary dismissal proceedings, punished with push-ups or being asked to jog 50 times around the camp which are very, very military.

But the organization’s civilian nature could have been saved if its leaders made moves for a new identity of a new PNP that could have put loyalty, self-esteem, support and camaraderie within the ranks.

Last February 8 or 28 years after RA 6975, President Duterte signed RA 11200, the law that modifies the classification of ranks and clarifies the command and responsibility in the PNP.

Senator Ping Lacson, principal author of RA 11200 in the senate said, under the law the PNP’s rank classification system was made distinct from that of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as the ranks to be used in addressing PNP personnel will be preceded by the word “Police”.

He said the measure “eliminates confusion on how our law enforcers must be addressed, and brings our policemen closer to the populace,” saying further that the law allows for “better coordination between the PNP and other law enforcement units in countering terrorism and other threats to national security.”

But critics say otherwise, which I believe because work coordination entails talents by those involved, whether their ranks are civilian or military. And by the way, the law did not improve rank classification as claimed by the senator. It only changed the way the policemen will be called.

Whatever, I believe that the main consideration should always be the persons affected by the measure, not the rank. I doubt Senator Lacson’s reasons. What is more believable is that President Duterte wants a military type organization that can address problems in the LGUs.

Under the new law, the Director-General will be changed to Police General, Deputy Director-General to Police Lieutenant General, Director to Police Major General, Chief Superintendent to Police Brigadier General, Senior Superintendent to Police Colonel, Superintendent to Police Lieutenant Colonel, Chief Inspector to Police Major, Senior Inspector to Police Captain, Inspector to Police Lieutenant, SPO4 to Police Executive Master Sergeant, SPO3 to Police Chief Master Sergeant, SPO2 to Police Senior Master Sergeant, SPO1 to Police Master Sergeant, PO3 to Police Staff Sergeant, PO2 to Police Corporal, and PO1 to Patrolman/Patrolwoman.

Military, isn’t it. Senator Lacson is correct in saying that it is almost 30 years since the passage of RA 6975, yet almost everyone is still more accustomed to the rank classification used in the military, but are aware that they are referring to the police and not the military.

For PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Bernard Banac, he said the new law clarifies the command and responsibility in the police force for effective and efficient supervision and control among its uniformed personnel.

His statement is an admittance that when the PNP men were still called by their civilian ranks, there was less effective and inefficient supervision and control among the police. Mind you, Spokesman Banac is wrong because I know of so many men and women in the PNP who are very much talented and brilliant.

Spokesman Banac said further that the rank classification will contribute to more performance output and productivity from the police for having high morale as they will be called again the way they were addressed before.

Contrary to his statement, performance output will be the same because only the rank changed not the character of the person. So, no matter how the police rank is called, the person’s character does not change.

A weak person in the police force does not become stronger when his civilian rank is changed to a military rank. I remember reading crime incident reports written in broken English and very bad grammar. Certainly, these will not improve by changing the way their ranks are called.

Shooting targets in the firing range will help improve a policeman’s marksmanship, not the change in the way their ranks are called. Support and camaraderie among the men and women in the police force will improve the performance of the organization as a whole, and not because they now sport military ranks.

Also, the people’s trust and confidence in the police will not improve by militarizing their ranking system. It is their performance and character that will make them loved by the public, not their military rank that is preceded by the letter “P”. And using military ranks in the police force will make people think that RA 11200 is an effort to militarize the PNP.