Childish Outbursts vs. Crime and Community.

Here in the Philippines, and perhaps just about any other country in the world, the primary function of the police organization is to maintain public order, ensure safety and security, and prevent and investigate crimes. But through the years, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has gone beyond their traditional task of policing and crime control, gearing towards a community and service-oriented policing system. With the help and cooperation of local government units and the community itself, the PNP is slowly but surely reinventing its image to something more congenial and 'people-friendly'.

Police mascot.
Photo credit: Tayo Na, Valenzuela.

But what happens when local executives turn their backs against the police force for seemingly trivial reasons? It's mayhem, of course, with the safety and security of the community, and people's lives at stake. Case in point, this controversy between the police and Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.

PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde criticized a local chief executive for withdrawing the city government's support to the local police. Albayalde did not drop names, but National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Police Major General Guillermo Eleazar confirmed later on that the local official in question was Mayor Teodoro.

Police Major General Guillermo Eleazar and PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde.
Photo credit: Philippine Star.

According to Albayalde, the issue began when the former chief of police in the city was promoted to the next higher rank and moved to a different post. A new chief was then assigned to the city, and the mayor apparently got angry, perhaps thinking that he was kept in the dark while all this was happening.

Under the law, local chief executives have the prerogative to choose the chief of police in their cities or municipalities. However, Albayalde pointed out that there are instances when the PNP has to temporarily assign an acting police chief in their areas if the post has been vacated.

As a result, Albayalde said the mayor withheld assistance funds for the local police, told them not to attend flag-raising rites at the city hall, and went so far as to remove all hotlines of police stations around the city. The PNP chief called these acts 'childish', which is exactly what it is.

PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde.
Photo credit: Philippine Star.

The Mayor is pissed that he was not kept in the loop. I get that - he has jurisdiction over the matter after all, aside from the fact that he is the highest governing body of the city. But to express his anger and retaliate by canceling the gas assistance for police mobiles and cutting off the hotlines in police stations is a little too much.

How are the cops supposed to respond to calls for help when the people can't even get in touch with them? How can you mobilize the cops when their patrol cars are running on empty? Who suffers the consequences of this 'childish' dispute? Certainly not the mayor. Not the police chief. Not the cops. It's the people who will experience negative repercussions for somebody else's actions. It's the people whom the police vow to serve and protect, the people who voted for the local officials, the people for whom the government exists.

In this day and age, the last thing we need are childish outbursts and trivial tantrums from people who should be governing in wisdom.