Senators yesterday slammed the “culture of violence” permeating the Philippine National Police arising from its alleged abject failure to detect the “criminal tendencies” of would-be and active police officers.
During a hearing on the killing of 17-year-old Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar by members of the Navotas City police last 2 August, lawmakers urged the PNP to make neuropsychiatric tests “non-negotiable” for their takers.
They said that too many lunatic cops are roaming the streets, ready to shoot and kill the innocent people they have sworn to serve and protect.
A former PNP chief, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, demanded clarity on the status of the administrative and criminal cases filed against PNP personnel involved in questionable shooting incidents.
Dela Rosa said the six Navotas cops clearly breached the PNP’s rules of engagement when they all fired their service firearms at the unarmed Baltazar while conducting a follow-up operation against another suspect.
The cops, who claimed they merely fired warning shots, hit Baltazar in the head and hand, and then stopped people from immediately picking up the teen from the Navotas river where he had fallen.
Forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun said Baltazar’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head aggravated by drowning. She said he could have survived the shooting had he been immediately taken to a hospital.
Of the six cops involved, only one followed a Supreme Court directive that body cameras should always be worn by law enforcement operatives when serving arrest or search warrants.
The lone camera, however, failed to record what happened as the cop who had it claimed its battery was not charged.
SWAT vs boy
Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned why the PNP allowed a Special Weapons and Tactics team to go after the unarmed Baltazar. She fumed over the cops preventing the rescue of the shooting victim.
“Sirs, you are supposed to preserve life, not take it,” she said, chiding the police for only filing a complaint of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against the cops.
“It appears (from the case filed) that it was just an accident, there was no intention to kill when they rained bullets on the child. I want to know the reasoning behind filing such a case. Is that what you call a new era of policing?” Hontiveros asked.
Senator Raffy Tulfo said there was an urgent need to overhaul the PNP’s recruitment, screening, and training processes, considering the “criminal tendencies” of applicants.
“It’s rotten. It’s not working anymore because it keeps on happening,” said Tulfo in Filipino. “It has been 25 years, the same things continue to happen, the abuses by policemen, particularly those newly hired.”
“Many had just graduated from the PNP (training), with less than a week (in the service), and they are already shooting and beating up innocent people,” he said.
“There’s really something very, very wrong with the screening process of the PNP, especially with its neuropsychiatric exam. The screening process is broken,” he noted.
The PNP-administered neuropsychiatric exam was in the spotlight weeks back after it was determined that the test results of those applying for firearm licenses had been doctored.
Police sources said the neuropsychiatric exam for police officers had also been doctored in the past in exchange for bribes.
Dela Rosa said those who fail the neuropsychiatric exam should no longer be allowed to retake the tests after six months. Tulfo also pressed the PNP to ditch the “retake” policy.
“We have been encountering applicants that are lunatics, they are shooting without any reason,” Dela Rosa said.
“That may be the reason why some policemen are abusive because they are not screened properly because of the retake program. That’s useless. Just remove the retake,” Tulfo said.