Lacson backs shaming of cops who embarrass PNP

Camille Elemia

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Lacson backs shaming of cops who embarrass PNP
'Shaming the cops who keep shaming the PNP, I think they deserve to be shamed. They deserve nothing less,' says the senator, who was once a PNP chief

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s shaming of cops who embarrass the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Shaming the cops who keep shaming the PNP, I think they deserve to be shamed. They deserve nothing less,” Lacson, a former PNP chief, told reporters in an interview on Wednesday, February 8.

Lacson, however, pointed out the need to make sure that these accusations against policemen are verified before they are paraded to the public.

“And for the next batches, sana may individual case folders, para maliwanag ano ang offense/s ng dadalhin sa Malacañang para palanguyin sa Pasig River at pakainin na water lily, dapat may matibay na basehan. Kasi mukhang ‘di maliwanag,” the senator said.

(And for the next batches, I hope there will be individual case folders so the offenses of those policemen sent to Malacañang to be asked to swim in the Pasig River and eat water lilies are clear. There should be strong basis because it does not seem clear now.)

As for Duterte’s order to send errant cops to Mindanao, Lacson said the “main objective” is to “uproot” these cops from their areas of influence.

As PNP chief, Lacson also sent problematic policemen to “hardship posts” like in Samar.

“Kasi kung masyado na silang familiar at gumagawa sila ng kalokohan, whether they are transferred to Basilan, to Samar, as long as they are uprooted, para mawala ang impluwensya nila roon, para ang environment mabago, I’ll support that move,” he said.

(If they have grown too familiar with their current environment and they do illegal acts, whether they are transferred to Basilan, to Samar, as long as they are uprooted, so their influence in their area will wane, so the environment will change, I’ll support that move.)

“Ako rin noon nagta-transfer ako pero ‘di ko specify na Mindanao. Meron akong pinapadala sa Samar, may so-called hardship posts, kasi wala ang the usual comforts and conveniences na na-e-enjoy ‘pag nasa NCR,” he added.

(I also transferred cops before but I did not specify Mindanao. I transferred people to Samar, to so-called hardship posts, because there are no usual comforts and conveniences there that they enjoy when they are in NCR.)

Asked if such a move demoralizes the PNP, Lacson said it could go both ways. He pointed out that punishing errant cops could prevent other policemen from engaging in illegal activities.

“Infectious ‘yan. ‘Pag ang katabi mo ang daming kalokohang ginagawa tapos hindi napaparusahan, baka ikaw sabihin mo na rin, ito enjoying ito, sama na ako sa kanya. So that’s a good move. Ang maparusahan ang dapat parusahan para ‘di mapamarisan,” he said.

(That’s infectious. If your fellow cop commits crimes and he or she isn’t punished, you might say that he or she is enjoying it and you might as well do the same thing. So that’s a good move. It’s good to punish those who should be punished so others won’t be encouraged to copy them.)

On Tuesday, February 7, the President admonished over 200 “errant and scalawag” policemen at the Malacañang Palace grounds.

The cops were mostly accused of minor offenses while some were charged with extortion and robbery.

Duterte told them they should get ready for deployment to conflict areas in Mindanao in 15 days and warned that they would become the next victims of extrajudicial killings.

“Kayo ang magdroga-droga, anak ng – pasensya na lang, ‘di ako magdalawang isip. Kayo ang ma-extrajudicial killing talaga, totoo ‘yan,” he said.

(You get into drugs, son of a – sorry, but I won’t think twice. You will be the victim of extrajudicial killing, it’s true.) – Rappler.com

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Camille Elemia

Camille Elemia is a former multimedia reporter for Rappler. She covered media and disinformation, the Senate, the Office of the President, and politics.