Scalawags in the war on drugs

BAÑOC

Last week, my friend, ship captain Ronald Librando who is enjoying his vacation, visited me in my office and invited me for a recreational target shooting or firing.

While we were in the firing range, I met with police officers who are assigned at Pasil Police Station who also practiced their marksmanship skills in the same firing range. They introduced to me as PO3 Arnido, PO2 Bolongon, PO2 Alcoseba and PO2 Noynay.

I felt glad talking with the said policemen for two reasons. First, they told me that they are followers of my radio program every morning “Straight to the Point” aired over DYHP RMN Cebu. Second, they said that they are very happy that President Rodrigo Duterte made an increase of their salary of which they are already enjoying.

They narrated that they receive a substantial increase of their salary which is already enough to support the needs of their respective families. They said, presently, every policeman who is in the right frame of mind should perform well of their job in return of the big favor given to them by the people.

They added that if a police is still not doing their job well today or still involve in illegal activities despite of their big salary, he has something wrong in his person. On their part, they are performing well of their duties, especially in running after illegal drugs, but admitted their obstacles in Pasil areas.

My friend Capt. Librando shared the same idea with the Pasil police. He recalled when he was a member of Philippine Navy when his salary was short to support his needs. He said a man in uniform is prone to corruption with that kind of salary. To evade temptation, he decided to resign and find a job in a private sector. He admitted that his decision was heartbreaking as it was his first love job, to serve the country through the Navy.

Last Monday evening, however, the arrest of a policeman of Parian Police Station in an entrapment operation for extortion is a total contrary to what I heard from my friend and the four police of Pasil. PO3 Ritchie Saquilabon was caught on the act of robbery and extortion inside a mall in downtown Cebu City.

The facts of the case went this way: PO3 Saquilabon, a member of Parian Police Station Drug Enforcement Unit and four others, including a barangay tanod, arrested an alleged drug suspect Richie Labus. The incident happened last Monday morning, but instead of bringing Labus to the Parian Police Station to undergo post-arrest procedures, they allegedly kept him in custody.

They then allegedly contacted the mother of Labus and demanded for P20,000 in exchange of downgrading the case they would file against her son. The displeased mother instead sought the help of PNP’s Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF). The latter conducted the entrapment operation which resulted to the arrest of PO3 Saquilabon. His cohorts, however, managed to evade the arrest.

Saquilabon will face both criminal and administrative cases for his disgraceful acts. The incident prompted Police Regional Director Robert Quenery to relieve the 39 policemen including the chief of police of Parian Police Station.

Saquilabon is just one of the bad eggs in the PNP organization. One can just imagine the damage that this one person has done to the entire organization. What will happen to the reputation of the PNP and its war against drugs if there are hundreds of its members whose feathers are like of Saquilabon’s?

Why did he do extortion despite the increase of his salary? I suspect that such increase does not have any impact to him and to those who are used to doing extortion activities. I suspect that this policeman had done such illegal activities even before Duterte became President.

Saquilabon and those few police whose feathers are like his do not have a place in public service. I hope the PNP hierarchy would fast track its internal cleansing simultaneously to its war on drugs.

They should realize that internal problem is worse than the external one.