The newly-designated regional director of the Police Regional Office, Brig. Gen. Filmore Escobal, has his hands full as the unit has filed 265 cases filed against its members for various wrongdoings.
In a forum Wednesday, Escobal confirmed that many of the cases were grave misconduct, irregularities in the performance of duties and even incompetence. He added that of those facing the cases, four of them were commissioned officers, or those whose ranks are either lieutenant or higher and members of the police force who underwent intensified education so they could earn their spots in higher rungs within the uniformed unit.
Of course, among the trainings that they undertook were those intended to mold them so they would become officers and gentlemen not only in performing their duties but also when they take off their badges and uniforms.
Escobal said the purpose of running after these members of the force who allegedly committed offenses is “because we do not like to stain the reputation we hope and we wan to regain the trust and confidence of the community; and we do not like the misfits to influence the others.”
Internal cleansing, he said, is necessary for the force to be able to get back the lost luster of their badges.
It is worth considering the last portion of his statement because, just like a disease, bad behavior can easily afflict others if not prevented. And considering that the problem has been there for so long, curbing it would be very difficult.
Cleansing, whether internal or otherwise, has been taking place in an effort to help the police force, just like the military, improve its image in the mind of the public. As always, officials would say those who committed misfeasance or malfeasance among them are just few, but that their misdemeanor has placed the entire force in the bad light.
Therefore, it is necessary for the top brass of the police to look into alternative mechanisms to arrest the problem; maybe it would be better for the police to strengthen some more the foundation of recruitment as well as the training methods. Sometimes, shaping a metal can be done better without pounding it with a hammer, but a just with a slow but steady drop of rain.
