COUNCILOR Jesus Joseph Zozobrado raised alarm on Tuesday over the misuse of police uniforms by civilians during the implementation of the arrest warrant against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused.
Zozobrado passed a resolution in Tuesday’s regular session calling on the Department of Interior Local Government to probe the unauthorized use of uniforms.
The majority floor leader said the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s recruitment of civilians and allowing them to wear the police uniform is a “breach of public trust.”
This following the confession of Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III during a Senate Inquiry on Friday here that he allowed civilians in police uniforms to enter the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound to assist with the excavation.
Torre said digging was initiated after detecting a heartbeat four meters below ground level.
Zozobrado stressed the police uniform is not only a piece of clothing but a symbol of authority, discipline, and public trust, and allowing “untrained” civilians to wear it undermines its value.
“ When civilians can casually don a police uniform at a general’s whim, what does that say about the respect we’re supposed to have for that uniform? How can the public continue to respect it when they see it treated so casually?” he said in his privilege speech.
He expressed his dismay over the matter stressing the police did not lack resources as there were about 3000 officers at his command.
“He didn’t even flinch as though he saw nothing wrong with having civilians play dress-up in police uniform. It’s as if, to him, the uniform was just another piece of clothing to be handed out, like a costume at a party,” he said.
The councilor who is also a lawyer emphasized that while Sec. 10, Rule 113 of the Rules on Criminal Procedure provides that an officer making a lawful arrest may summon as many persons as he deems necessary to assist him in effecting the arrest, he said such an officer may resort to the Rule “during the act of arresting the accused and not while extensively searching for him.”
“Clearly, the Rule cannot be used to justify the actions of General Torre in enlisting civilians to search for Pastor Apollo and even making them wear the PNP’s uniform,” he added.
Zozobrado added that DILG must not ignore this act and should step in immediately to restore the integrity of law enforcement. A lack of action on the matter will turn this into a precedent for the next police operations.
“If we allow this to pass without action, what comes next? Will we start seeing civilians showing up at crime scenes, casually assisting police work just because they’re wearing a uniform? Will the line between the trained and the untrained, the professional and the amateur, start to blur beyond recognition because it’s convenient for commanding officers?” he said.
On Sept. 8, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy reportedly “voluntarily surrendered” to the AFP, ending the 16-day occupation of PNP at the KOJC.
