“PNP REMOVES ALL 75 COPS FROM VP SECURITY DETAIL” – Inquirer headline. Really? In the first place, why “75 cops” to secure one public official, even if she’s next to the head-of-state? Shouldn’t the PNP be more circumspect in spreading its people-protection strategies as “Protector of the People,” especially in the urban areas, particularly in NCR? Where are the cops supposedly patrolling the city’s crowded streets where pickpockets or other anti-social individuals abound, ready to pounce on unsuspecting pedestrians?
No wonder, people have had reason for the longest time to be wary while walking along their neighborhood, or in crowded walkways, during the day, or especially at night. Police enforcers may be a daily sight, but their reputation is hardly encouraging, what with jeepney drivers often calling them names that denote the opposite of “Protectors of the People.” Particularly in urban areas, we read from the mainstream media incidents of “road rage” not only by armed drivers, but also by PNP personnel. Worse, given the PNP’s track record of following the policy of “Kill, Kill, Kill!” of the former president since he took over way back in July 2016, the people generally don’t feel safe seeing them around. This common sentiment about the policemen among ordinary citizens is quite understandable, because until today there is the sad fact of more than 30,000 EJKs is still pending resolution under the current leadership’s mandate of “giving justice to everyone.”
“Peace and Order” is indeed a priority in any community, city, town or in any society for that matter. And while the frontliners in this aspect of good governance are the policemen in the streets, their superiors up to the PNP Chief have to be models of ‘Servant-Leadership’ to project their institution as genuine “Protectors of the People.” Of course, this “Serve the People” mandate extends to all government officials. And in the case of keeping the peace and security of all citizens at the ground level, the prosecutors, judges and the Supreme Court justices, have to be working effectively with Congress and with those in the executive branch, especially the head-of-state.
In a nutshell, the people are hoping those “75 cops” will be assigned more rationally and intelligently. And in the process, the government administration will also realize that “Peace and Order” in the country involves keeping a vibrant economy – jobs for the unemployed, decent wages for the laborers, farmers, fisher folks, IPs, homes for the homeless, land for the landless, P20/kg of rice and affordable prices of food items and basic necessities of families, a justice system that operates without delay, educational system and healthcare system that meet international standards, and a truly independent foreign policy.
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