Over 300 policemen across the country who have been serving the Philippine National Police (PNP) for six years were ordered fired by the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
The Napolcom ordered the immediate dismissal of the 386 policemen after it found “homogeneous patterns of wrong answers” in the answer sheets of the affected examinees, which was considered to be statistically improbable, when they took the PNP entrance examination on April 14, 2011.
In other words, all these policemen who were supposed to have passed the Napolcom entrance examination in five testing areas in the country in 2011 were found to have cheated on their tests, the reason why they passed and were accepted in the PNP, confirmed Homer Mariano Cabaral, the director of the Napolcom in Central Visayas.
Cabaral yesterday affirmed that the dismissal order exists when asked by Cebu Daily News to confirm the information it obtained from a source.
Another source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter, revealed to CDN that at least 18 of the dismissed policemen are currently assigned in Central Visayas, including “several” in Cebu.
In a resolution rendered by the Napolcom en banc dated June 14, 2017, the Commission approved the Napolcom Resolution No. 2012-0261 invalidating the results of the April 17, 2011 PNP entrance examination taken by 386 of the examinees due to “statistical improbability of homogeneity of patterns of wrong answers.”
It was received by the office of PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on July 28, 2017.
The same resolution directed Dela Rosa to “cause the immediate termination from the service of the examinees” covered by the order.
Cabaral said he has yet to receive a formal copy of the order, but he was already informed about it.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) has also yet to receive a copy of the order, the source revealed.
The affected policemen tried to stop the dismissal order, but the Napolcom en banc dismissed all petitions and motions of the involved policemen questioning the resolution.
It also dismissed “for lack of merit” all the legal actions including motions, appeals and petitions for reinstatement of the affected examinees who were terminated from the police service.
The petition to stop the dismissal order was first lodged in November 2012 when 13 policemen from Region 9 or Zamboanga Peninsula — who are now among the affected 386 cops — were terminated from service for dishonesty.
The 13 policemen, who all had a rank of Police Officer 1 (PO1) were dismissed after they were caught cheating during the entrance exam given on April 17, 2011.
“Finally, the validity of the memorandum of the former (Napolcom) Commissioner Eduardo U. Escueta dated Sept. 25, 2012, issued on behalf of the Commission En Banc directing the Office of the Chief PNP to cause the immediate termination from the police service of the examinees covered by the Napolcom Resolution No. 2012-0261, is hereby affirmed,” said the June 17, 2017 resolution signed by Lawyer Chito Noel Bustonera, the acting staff service chief of the Legal Affairs Service of the Napolcom.
Same answers
In an interview with CDN, Cabaral explained that the conclusion of “statistical improbability” reached by Napolcom came about when they found that the examinees had the same correct and wrong answers, which, he said, was tantamount to cheating.
“Tangtangon g’yud sila kay dili man sila qualified. If tinuod nga apil sila sa cheating, they have to face the consequences of their actions,” Cabaral said.
(They will have to be dismissed since they are not qualified. If it is true that they took part in the cheating, they need to face the consequences of their actions.)
The Napolcom entrance examination is taken as an eligibility test for those who aspire to become police officers, said Cabaral.
“Dili man ka ma police og dili ka eligible. Aron ma-eligible ka, dapat mo take and pasar sa exam (You will not become a police officer if you are not eligible. For you to be eligible, you need to take and pass the exam),” Cabaral said.
He said that the 2011 Napolcom Entrance Examination was a multiple choice type of exam.
Cabaral said that there were five venues of the examination: Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
Retake?
Asked why it took Napolcom six years to render a decision, Cabaral said that the investigation took so long since there were hearings for the case.
“I don’t know if maka-retake pa sila (affected examinees). Commission (en banc) na man gud ang nag boot ana. Sila ray maka-decide if allowed ang retake,” Cabaral said.
(I don’t know if the affected examinees can retake the examination. It is only the Commission en banc that can decide on that. Only they can decide if they would allow a retake.)
Cabaral stressed that because of this incident, Napolcom has become stricter and has implemented more stringent rules, especially on the use of gadgets during the examination.
Cabaral said those affected examinees now assigned in Central Visayas could see him in his office in Cebu City.
Under Napolcom rules, Cabaral said the affected examinees could still make an appeal.
“The decisions by the Napolcom Commission en banc can be appealed at the Civil Service Commission,” he said.
However, Cabaral said that pending appeal, the dismissal order would need to be served.