Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Senators on Tuesday backed a proposal to strip local executives of powers to appoint the heads of police at the municipal and provincial levels, in a move aimed at professionalizing the often maligned force by ending political patronage.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief, who chairs the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, said the practice has led to 鈥渁buses鈥� and left officers beholden to local government officials instead of the Philippine National Police as an institution.
鈥淚t erodes professionalism because, instead of being beholden to the chain of command, what police officers do is seek favors from local government executives,鈥� Lacson said in a committee hearing.
The senator has a pending bill challenging the Constitutional provision that grants local executives the 鈥渁ppointive jurisdiction鈥� over police officers. In his draft, Lacson said 鈥渢here is nothing that prevents Congress from reviewing the wisdom and logic鈥� behind Article 16, Section 6, of the organic law.
The provision states that 鈥渢he authority of local executives over the police units in their jurisdiction shall be provided by law.鈥�
This practice has led to 鈥渃ontroversies in the past鈥� due to 鈥渁 public perception that conflict of interest arises when provincial directors and police chiefs end up being indebted to local chief executives,鈥� he said.
鈥淥fficers who want to lobby to become chiefs of police or provincial directors look for backers to get them close to governors or mayors. This diminishes professionalism,鈥� Lacson said in an interview.
Abuses
He stressed that this has led to a scenario where policemen have been used by local chief executives to carry out abuses.
During the hearing, League of Provinces of the Philippines executive director Angelica Sanchez bucked Lacson鈥檚 Senate Bill No. 971, saying local officials knew the peace and order situations in their jurisdictions best.
To this, Sen. Gregorio Honasan said: 鈥淲hy should these (appointment of police chiefs) be governed by what the local government executive thinks or feels?鈥�
鈥淭he AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the PNP are not pretorial guards or private security agencies or armies of the political leadership. And if you scale this down鈥擠irector Sanchez, you can communicate this (to governors)鈥攅specially during elections, you are forcing the PNP and, sometimes the AFP, to be partisan,鈥� said Honasan, a former soldier.
PNP Director for Plans Noel Vargas said the police organization fully supported Lacson鈥檚 proposal and admitted that some officers had become too 鈥渂eholden to local executives鈥� that they tend to follow them more than the chain of command.
He cited instances when local officials would reject the PNP鈥檚 list of nominees, despite having undergone a strict vetting process.