Crame senior officials dragged into sympathy march controversy
IT all boils down to the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and Philippine Military Academy (PMA) rivalry.
The ranking police officer who was recently suspended as a member of the PNPA’s alumni association was said to have been pressured by “senior officials in Camp Crame” to discourage his members from joining the sympathy march for slain 44 policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
And according to retired Chief Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III, PNPA Alumni Association Inc. (PNPAAAI) board chairman, Senior Superintendent Jerome Baxinela gave in to the pressure to boost his chances of being promoted to a higher rank.
In an interview on Tuesday, Rentoy said Baxinela was “vulnerable to pressure” from the PNP higher-ups because of the alleged inequality in the promotion of PNPA and the PMA graduates in the police force.
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Earlier, Rentoy announced the suspension of Baxinela and Senior Superintendent Bernardo Borrinaga for dissuading PNPA graduates to join the controversial march as tribute to six PNPA alumni who died in the January 25 operation.
Article continues after this advertisement“The trouble is, namamalimos pa ang officials natin sa pwesto sa paghehenaral. So our members succumb to pressure para lang bigyan sila ng pwesto. Sa isang ideal organization, wala na dapat yan,” Rentoy said.
Article continues after this advertisementLike the clamor of the previous PNPAAAI administration under Rosendo Dial, Rentoy lamented that at present, most PNP officers with star-rank positions are PMA graduates while products of the police academy are assigned to “minor positions.”
The issue arose anew after Baxinela and Borrinaga were allegedly pressured by “senior officers in Camp Crame who are still in active service” whom Rentoy refused to name.
“Actually, those who pressured them, may feelers na huwag silang i-sanction…to go easy on them. Siguro ngayon nakita nilang sinuspend namin sila, alam nilang we really mean business na hindi kami pwedeng ma-pressure sa gano’n,” he said.
Baxinela and Borrinaga, Camp Crame and National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Support Group chapter president of the PNPAAAI, were suspended after spreading a text message preventing PNPA graduates from supporting the 44-kilometer walk-run event last March 8.
Rentoy said Borrinaga, in his explanation to the PNPAAAI, was “dissuaded by the NCRPO regional director” from joining the march.
“If you will recall, one by one, our permits to assemble from Quezon City government, MMDA, and in Camp Crame,were all recalled,” he said.
Rentoy said assignments to third-level key positions in the PNP, which starts from the rank of Senior Superintendent up to Police Director, should be “based on merits” of police officers.
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“Ang graduates ba nila (PMA), sila lang ang may monopoly of knowledge? Hindi naman siguro. We also have officers who are lawyers, graduates of Asian Institue Management, and other prestigious schools,” he said.
“PNPA graduates should also be given the chance to lead. We don’t lack good officers.”
Asked to comment on the matter, PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Bartolome Tobias maintained that the PNP has nothing to do with the internal affairs PNPAAAI as it is a private organization. AC
