It was ludicrous, the sight of cops doing pushups as they were being berated by their boss, Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa.
The three policemen from Angeles City reportedly “arrested” three Korean tourists in December to extort cash from them. There is public outrage against the police with the revelation that yet another Korean from the same city, Jee Ick Joo, was taken from his home and killed in Camp Crame. After his remains were cremated his killers had the gall to demand ransom from his wife.
An angry PNP chief cursed the cops repeatedly for their wrongdoing.
Dela Rosa had said he wanted to melt in shame for what happened to Jee. He did not melt, and went on to celebrate his birthday basking in President Rodrigo Duterte’s continued trust and confidence in him. The President’s support also emboldened Dela Rosa to challenge his critics who were demanding his resignation.
A few days later, Mr. Duterte said he was suspending Oplan Tokhang, anti-drugs campaign in favor of cleansing the ranks of the police.
By cleansing the ranks we envisioned harsher punishment for cops who give the police force a bad name, and the beginnings of long-term action to ensure that policemen live up to their mandate—certainly not the sight of them bowing their heads as their boss cursed them, or doing pushups as cameras clicked away. While these may be symbolic, they are also pitifully inadequate. Worse, they attempt to trivialize a grave problem into a show,
Then again, Dela Rosa himself appears to be fond of spectacle. We have no problem with a bit of gimmickry so long as he gets the job done. But since he has shown himself woefully incompetent, all his attempts at publicity tell us that he is all about that—and not much else.