MANILA, Philippines – “Lahat ng Pilipino ay nangangarap ng lipunang walang droga at krimen. Paano natin ito mararating ay kasing importante ng mismong pangarap na iyon.”

(All Filipinos dream of a society free of drugs and crime. How we will achieve this is as important as that dream.)

Alluding to the Duterte administration’s war against drugs, Vice President Leni Robredo issued this reminder to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday, August 22.

Robredo was the guest of honor during the anniversary of the PNP’s Center for Police Strategy Management (CPSM).

In her speech before the police, Robredo encouraged them to foster a society where everyone “can live together in peace.” 

“Being excellent in our sworn jobs to serve and protect our countrymen is not all about what we do in the line of fire. It also means building the stability of institutions that keep the peace,” she said.

“It’s not about deciding who dies or who lives. It’s also about making sure that when the fighting dies down, what’s left is a community that trusts more than fears.”

Since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a massive anti-drug campaign, the PNP has recorded hundreds of cases of extrajudicial killings.

From Monday to Tuesday, August 22 to 23, Senator Leila de Lima is leading a Senate probe into the spate of killings.

Jesse’s letter 

In Robredo’s speech, she included some excerpts from a letter that her late husband, former interior secretary Jesse Robredo, sent to each cop 4 years ago.

In the excerpt the Vice President read, Jesse encouraged every member of the police force to perform their duty well, adding that there would be rewards for those who deliver. 

“Ngayong taon, inaasahan kong magiging mas mahusay at maayos ang iyong pagsisilbi upang mabigyan kita ng karampatang pabuya. Inaayos natin ang sistema ng promotion at recruitment upang ang pagtaas ng ranggo ng bawat pulis ay base sa mahusay, matapat, at matuwid na pagganap sa tungkulin na pagsisilbi,” Jesse wrote, referring to Police Patrol Plan 2030.

(This year, I expect you to be more competent and disciplined in your service so that I can give you the corresponding grant. We are fixing the promotion and recruitment system so that we can elevate the rank of each police officer based on excellent, honest, and upright conduct of service.)

Police Patrol Plan 2030 gives every cop an annual P10,000 Christmas bonus and increased funding from P650 to P1,000. It also provides for a new cash disbursement program to ensure that funds go directly to the grassroots stations.

The CPSM is the unit mandated to oversee the plan’s implementation. Created through Resolution No. 2012-318, the CPSM was the last reform initiated by the late interior secretary before he died in a plane crash on August 18, 2012. – Rappler.com