Pampabata

by Napoleon C. Reyes

Alumni of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) have recently called attention to the inequitable promotion system in the police force that favors Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduates. They complain that PMA graduates get all the key positions despite the latter being in the minority.

It will be recalled that Congress abolished the Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police (PC/INP) in 1991 to demilitarize the Philippine police. The Philippine National Police (PNP) – a police force that is national in scope and civilian in character – was created in its stead. As part of the transition, however, several military personnel were absorbed in the new organization. The last PMA graduates who are currently serving in the PNP are expected to retire in 2026.

In July 2013, PNP officials and alumni suggested the reentry of PMA graduates into the PNP. Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, the PNP spokesperson and a PMA alumnus, argued that the training provided by the PNPA may not be enough:

We should define the PMA as a leadership school [that] develops leaders. The PNP would like to avail itself of the leaders being produced by the PMA. The PNPA is also a leadership school but maybe it might not be enough. We want to have a variety of [sources for officers]… so it will not be all just fried chicken. We will also have crispy pata.

All this greasy talk of fried chicken and crispy pata (deep-fried pork knuckle) leading the national police had my blood pressure shooting up. Clearly, PMA graduates want to maintain their hold on the PNP. The justification given by Senior Superintendent Sindac – that the PMA produces graduates who are better qualified to lead the PNP – indicates a misplaced sense of elitism and arrogance.

In the first place, the law that created the PNP states that the national police force “shall be organized, trained and equipped primarily for the performance of police functions” and that “no element of the police force shall be military.” How would the reentry of graduates of the PMA - the country's premier military school - square with this framework?

Also, while there is a long historical alliance between the Philippine military and police, with both being the state’s primary use-of-force entities, the thrust has been toward strengthening the civilian nature of the PNP. This is consistent with the emphasis on community oriented policing in other national and local police organizations. This trend was brought about by realization that the military ethos of fixating on the mission (where targets are seen as enemies, killing and destruction to pursue an objective are permissible, and collateral damage is acceptable) is incongruent with the tenets of civilian policing in a democratic society (where crime control is co-production of public safety, suspects are presumed innocent, and collateral damage is unacceptable). We have already seen what happens when the line separating the traditional spheres of military and civilian law enforcement is blurred. The egregious abuses committed by the PC/INP during the Marcos regime moved the framers of the 1987 Constitution to require the establishment and maintenance of a police force that is “civilian in character.”

Finally, if we base it on service record, Senior Superintendent Sindac’s assertion stands on tenuous ground. The PMA has also produced leaders like Superintendent Dionisio Borromeo, General Carlos Garcia, General Jacinto Ligot, and Secretary Angelo Reyes, all of whom have been accused of corruption and official misconduct. I am not suggesting that the PNPA does not have its share of infamous alumni. The point is that no school - civilian or military - has a monopoly of talent.

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Pampabata in Filipino literally means "something that makes you younger." It's slang for greasy food; you will never grow old when you consume them regularly because you will die young.

References

'PNPA is fried chicken; PMA is crispy pata.' (2013, July 9). Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/441093/pnpa-is-fried-chicken-pma-is-crispy-pata

Ramos, M. (2014, April 1). PNPA grads vs PMA grads: PNP powerplay. Philippine Daily

Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/590681/pnpa-grads-vs-pma-grads