IN PHOTOS: 2017 PNPA homecoming

CAVITE, Philippines – They consider it “hallowed ground,” a place where they get a chance to unwind and reconnect with classmates and schoolmates both old and new.

On Saturday, March 11, alumni of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) gathered at Camp General Mariano Castañeda for the institution’s 37th alumni homecoming.

All PNPA classes – from the “Maharlika” Class of 1980 to the “Masundayaw” Class of 2016 – were represented during the homecoming celebration at Silang, Cavite.

The PNPA is where the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) source most of its commissioned officers.

The 2017 homecoming comes at a time when the PNP – the agency where most graduates are commissioned into – faces both praise and controversy for its role in President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs.”

“I urge you PNPA alumni to ask yourselves the same questions when you applied for the PNPA Cadetship program. Do you think your character and discipline fit the service? Have you developed extreme patience and humility? Do you have a strong conviction, advocacy and principles in life that can benefit the interest of the vast majority, if not everyone? Can you still answer these questions with a resounding yes?” said Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, guest speaker during the event.

The PNP, BFP, and BJMP are under the Interior Department.

AMIDST THE CHALLENGES. The 2017 homecoming comes at a time when the PNP faces both praise and controversy for its role in President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs.”

Recently, the PNP was pulled out of the war on drugs following the kidnap and slay case of a Korean businessmen. Personnel from the PNP’s anti-illegal drugs group were supposedly behind the crime.

But Duterte has since allowed the PNP’s return to the drugs war after a 4-week hiatus.

“The drug war is currently being attacked, criticized, and demonized both here and broad. While it is true that these scalawags, they constitute a minute percentage of the number who are still decent, skilled, and reliable policemen,” added Sueno in a mix of English and Filipino.

He urged the PNP, BJMP and BFP to focus on “internal cleansing” to get rid of “scalawags” within their ranks.

“Real change will happen and it will happen now,” said Sueno, who was once municipal mayor of Koronadal and later, governor of South Cotabato.

In a time where “scalawags” and “internal cleansing” buzz words in government, what points will the future – and current – leaders of the country’s public safety agencies contemplate on?

Here are the highlights of the 2017 Grand Alumni Homecoming:

ON HALLOWED GROUNDS.The homecoming was held in Camp Castañeda, a place where they get a chance to unwind and reconnect with classmates and schoolmates both old and new.