ASIDE from cleaning their ranks from scalawags, the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has mandated its policemen to discover the goodness in each of them and perform acts of kindness every day.
Senior Supt. Eric Noble, director of CPPO, yesterday launched the “Cebu Provincial Police Random Acts of Kindness” program and asked over 2,000 policemen in Cebu province to do at least three kind gestures to people daily.
As an evidence, each policeman should either post on Facebook photos of the good deeds they have done or write them down on notebooks provided by the CPPO.
The top three performers, he said, will be awarded after the flag raising ceremony at the CPPO headquarters every Monday.
“Pilitin na natin sila na maging mabait. Requirement na ito. I hope in the coming years, hindi na natin sila kailangang pilitin. Sana natural na lang sa kanila ang pagiging mabait na mga pulis (I have to force them to become good policemen. This is now a requirement. But I hope in the coming years, we no longer have to force them to do good. Instead, they will become good policemen naturally),” said Noble in an interview.
Noble expressed hopes that random acts of kindness from every policeman will improve public perception of the Philippine National Police.
“Kaysa bugbugin nila ang suspect, bigyan nila ng malamig na tubig (Instead of punching a suspect, give a cold water for the person to drink). Just imagine each of over 2,000 policemen doing three acts of kindness daily,” he said.
The Evangelical Ministers Movement, which is part of the CPPO Pastoral Council, will provide the needed materials like notebooks and pens to the police for them to record their good deeds.
Supt. Jaime Quiocho, chief of the police community relations of the CPPO, said random acts of kindness are essential to the well-being of every policeman as it liberates them from “self-obsession, selfishness and isolation.”
“We may feel we have little to offer, but whether it is a few pennies or a whole bankroll, a cup of tea or a banquet is irrelevant — it is the act of giving itself that is important,” he said.
“The desire to do good must become a way of life. The innate kindness of every policeman should be highlighted. At first, this seems to be an obligation, but in the process, we hope to see naturally good cops,” added Quiocho, the project supervisor of the Cebu Provincial Police Random Acts of Kindness.