POLICE Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. perorated on the new ground rules in the Philippine National Police (PNP) immediately after he was sworn in as the 29th chief of the country’s police organization.
Under his leadership, Acorda said rewards and punishment will be quick and decisive.
“We shall be fair and impartial and due process shall be observed, we will establish unity, promote patriotism and uplift morale, strengthen cooperation, and instill discipline in the organization,” Acorda said, addressing some 228,000 policemen, the media, and the public.
The new PNP chief stressed he will give a premium on morale and welfare of the men and women in uniform, and to do this, assignment and positioning will be based on merit, ability and moral ascendancy.
Acorda took the helm of the PNP at a time when the police force is in the cusp of totally losing the trust and confidence of the people because of the deep and extensive involvement of some police officers in the illegal drugs trade, or regaining its lost reputation as a professional and reliable keeper of peace and enforcer of law.
Now retired chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. left the PNP with much unfinished work, the most significant of which is the problem of illegal gambling (online sabong) and warlordism in Negros Oriental, leading to the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, and the colossal drug smuggling case involving MSgt Rodolfo Mayo and much higher officials.
Mayo was arrested in Tondo, Manila on Oct. 8, 2022 in an anti-drug raid where 990 kilos of shabu worth P6.7 billion was confiscated. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said there was a massive cover-up by top police officials involved in the case and called for their relief pending investigation.
‘The road ahead is bumpy but we wish you success, General Acorda.’
Degamo was killed last March 4 in a strafing operation by armed men who turned out to be former soldiers and trainees. Several of the arrested suspects pointed to Rep. Arnulfo Teves as the mastermind. The congressman had fled the country despite pressure from the House of Representatives for him to return and clear his name. It has been established at the hearings of the Senate Committee on Peace and Order that Teves was the inveterate operator of the lucrative “e-sabong” in the Visayas.
General Azurin correctly described the Tondo, Manila raid as one that “opened a can of worms” as to the policemen involved in illegal drugs activities, including the alleged game plan of illegal drugs syndicates to set up confiscation of large quantities of shabu with the help of their cohorts in the PNP.
It is sad that Azurin will have to leave to his successor the remaining tasks on the evaluation of third-level PNP officers who were all asked to submit courtesy resignations amid the illegal drugs issues hounding the PNP. Retired PNP general and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a member of the evaluation panel, said they prefer Azurin to be the chairman of the five-man committee conducting the evaluation of the more than 900 PNP senior officers. The evaluation is expected to be finished in the next two weeks.
Acorda did not mince words in telling the policemen his policy on drugs and crime in general. “My stand on anti-illegal drugs is clear: No police should be involved in pushing, using or whatever means of illegal trade. You will be charged and removed from the service. Our fight will be holistic in prevention and aggressive in operation.”
The road ahead is bumpy but we wish you success, General Acorda.
