Will cops behave if they get a P50,000/monthly pay?

“Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.” Antonio Villaraigosa

By Alex P. Vidal

Another reason why members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are demoralized aside from their low salary is because of the way they are treated by our justice system after doing their job.

Take the case of Inspector Rey Castro and PO3 Aaron Gaton.

They were ordered arrested by Judge Rene Hortillo of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 68 for the killing of poultry dealer Pinky Decolongon at the Dumangas public market in Dumagas, Iloilo early this year.

Castro was the town deputy police chief while Gaton was investigator when the incident happened on January 2, 2014.

The two responded to a complaint that a man was making trouble inside the public market at around 11 o’clock in the morning.

When they pacified the suspect identified as Decolongon, the latter fired at the cops but missed, according to Senior Inspector Jonathan Pinuela, former Dumangas police chief.

Castro shot Decolongon on the left thigh to neutralize him, Pinuela added.

SHOOT

When the suspect tried to shoot them anew, Castro reportedly finished him off with his .9mm service pistol.

The cops insisted they killed Decolongon “in self defense” and the encounter happened “in the line of duty.”

It was Decolongon’s family that pursued the case against Castro and Gaton, it was learned.

The family insisted the cops murdered the wounded and defenseless Decolongon.

When the arrest warrant came out the other week, they voluntarily surrendered one after another to Senior Superintendent Cornelio Salinas, Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director.

The two cops are now detained at the Iloilo Provincial Integrated Jail in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo.

This scenario where the cops land in jail for a job-related offense is sending mixed signals to other cops.

When confronted with the same situation like the one in the Dumangas public market in the future, other cops will no longer react according to how they were trained to react as law enforcers in the face of imminent danger.

Because of what happened to Castro and Gaton, the other cops will now face a dilemma of damned if you do and damned if you don’t when in the same situation with Castro and Gaton.

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Will a low-ranking policeman who gets a P50,000 monthly salary stay away from temptations of committing crimes like “hulidap” and "kotong"?

Will a police chief superintendent who brings home a monthly salary of P200,000 to P500,000 reject a monthly payola from illegal gambling and other organized syndicates?

This is the question that authorities should study and deal with seriously if the proposal of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will push through or taken into consideration.

Duterte said he would implement the eye-catching salary increase once he becomes president of the country.

The mayor believes that the reason why some cops are engaged in criminal activities like the members of the La Loma PNP in Quezon City, is because they get only P18,000 a month.

‘KULANG’

He described it as “kulang na kulang talaga yan.”

One way to discourage them from doing monkey business while in police service is to increase their salaries and other privileges, according to the tough mayor known for executing criminals in his city.

Duterte’s proposal must have sent shivers down the spine of other rogue cops beholden to crime syndicates.

Because they are at the beck and call of crime syndicates, these ruffians in uniform can’t just easily severe their ties with the underworld or face the consequences—even if they receive the “decent” monthly pay from the government as suggested by Duterte.

But Duterte must run and win first before this proposal will be realized.