The Atimonan massacre will go down in history as the Army Special Forces\u2019 \u201cfinest\u201d hour.<\/p>\n\n
They killed 13 \u201ccriminals\u201d without incurring a single casualty in a one-way shoot-out.<\/p>\n\n
In firefights with New People Army (NPA) and Moro rebels, the Special Forces had always lost.<\/p>\n\n
Because of their feat in Atimonan, the rebels must be doubling up in laughter.<\/p>\n\n
And the rebels have reason to rejoice: The citizenry has lost trust in the Special Forces.<\/p>\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n
Why did soldiers take part in a purely police operation?<\/p>\n\n
The policemen who sought the help of the Special Forces in a mission to supposedly interdict armed criminals could not have claimed they lacked men.<\/p>\n\n
The Police Regional Office (PRO) 4-A in Southern Tagalog has a public safety battalion headed by Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao of the Dacer-Corbito murder fame.<\/p>\n\n
The leader of the Special Forces, Lt. Col. Monico Abang, could have begged off when he was asked by the police for reinforcement.<\/p>\n\n
He could have said that the Army is only for fighting insurgents and foreign aggressors, not ordinary criminals.<\/p>\n\n
So, why didn\u2019t Abang turn down the request for reinforcement?<\/p>\n\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n
Now is the right time for Director General Alan Purisima to introduce wide-ranging reforms in the Philippine National Police (PNP).<\/p>\n\n
Whatever he asks his Commander-in-Chief, President Noy, and Congress in connection with reforming the PNP will surely be granted because the Atimonan massacre has become a hot topic.<\/p>\n\n
For example, Purisima might ask Congress to amend the law accepting only college graduates into the PNP.<\/p>\n\n
Insubordination by low-ranking cops stems from their supposedly \u201chigh education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The defunct Philippine Constabulary, forerunner of the PNP, was a more disciplined organization because high school graduates were accepted into its rank and file.<\/p>\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n
Another aspect of reforming the PNP is to give superiors the power to dismiss outright\u2014and detain for criminal investigation\u2014any member who has flagrantly committed a grave offense.<\/p>\n\n
At present, cops who are charged with serious criminal offenses, like murder, remain in the service and even get promoted because of the long process of litigation.<\/p>\n\n
Examples of such notorious cops are Supt. Hansel Marantan, charged with killing 40 persons, and Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao, who was linked to the abduction-murder of publicist Bubby Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.<\/p>\n\n
Marantan and Dumlao are still in the service\u2014and even got promoted\u2014despite the grave offenses imputed to them because the wheels of justice grind so exceedingly slow.<\/p>\n\n
Summary dismissal proceedings against cops should be just that: Summary or fast.<\/p>\n\n
It should last not more than a month.<\/p>\n\n
Most administrative cases against policemen take years to finish.<\/p>\n\n
The result is that complainants eventually lose interest and so the cases are dropped.<\/p>\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n
The drug smuggling case against my friend, businessman Lepeng Wee of Zamboanga City has been dismissed by the Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n\n
Wee, a billionaire, was never a smuggler, much more a drug trafficker.<\/p>\n\n
I should know, otherwise I would never go near a drug trafficker whom I consider a form of lowlife.<\/p>\n\n
The drug smuggling case against him was fabricated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Atimonan massacre will go down in history as the Army Special Forces\u2019 \u201cfinest\u201d hour. They killed 13 \u201ccriminals\u201d without incurring a single casualty in a one-way shoot-out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4081,36,38,1266],"tags":[4474,206080,125098,206087,5172],"byline":[127],"source":[206078],"column":[128],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n