MANILA, Philippines – No matter how many times salaries are raised for cops, if they are “corrupt to the bone” they will remain corrupt, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Guillermo Eleazar said on Tuesday, March 12.

“Logically, ‘pag nakitang mas malaki ang suweldo mo, eh gagawa ka ba ng kalokohan? So nabawasan ‘yan. Pero kung sagad na sa buto ang kalokohan ng isang pulis – eh kahit pa siguro tatlong beses mong, o apat na beses – kung ‘yung greed at saka ‘yung easy money for easy life ang kanyang panuntunan, eh talagang walang-wala,” Eleazar said in a Rappler Talk interview.

(Logically, if your salary increased, will you still go rogue? So, that has been diminished. But if the corruption of a policeman seeps to the bone, even if you raise salaries 3 or 4 times – if the greed and thirst for easy money and an easy life are his guiding principles – it will amount to nothing.)

This comes after an anti-drug cop, Police Offcer 2 Marlo Quibete, allegedly tried to extort P200,000 from the family of a drug suspect that his unit detained.

When they came face-to-face, Eleazar forcibly pulled up Quibete’s head by grabbing his hair and his jaw so he could look at him in the eye.

Eleazar defended his outburst as “normal” in the police service, given their culture. (READ: PNPA upperclassmen beatings a ‘tradition’ – police chief)

Eleazar added that he might even do it again someday if ever another cop breaks their rules.

“Hindi tayo titigil na ipahiya ang ating kasamahan. Para lang malaman ng lahat na hindi natin itotolerate ‘yun (We will not stop shaming our [corrupt] men. Just so others know that we won’t tolerate this),” Eleazar said.

This drive to weed out corrupt policemen has also translated to numbers, Eleazar said.

According to data from the NCRPO, some 4,099 cops in Metro Manila have been slapped with administrative charges for breaking laws – from extortion to irregularities in conducting anti-drug operations. Of these, 470 have been dismissed from the service.

To hasten their internal cleansing program, Eleazar called on the public to “step forward” if they have received any derogatory information on cops. (READ: Policing the PNP: Scalawags spoil Duterte vow to end crime)

“Ang appeal namin sa aming mga kababayan, hindi kami mapapagod, hindi kami titigil, hahanapin namin ‘yan. Tulungan niyo kami. Hindi namin kaya ito (Our appeal is that we will not tire, we will not stop, we will look for them. Help us. We can’t do this alone). Please help us help you,” Eleazar said. – Rappler.com