HIGH-RANKING POLICEMEN LINKED TO DRUG TRADE

Roses And Thorns

The Philippines is said to be the Number Three Country that uses the
greatest amount of shabu. Now comes the report that eight ranking officials
of the Philippine National Police are being accused of having direct
connections with a top criminal syndicate dealing with drugs, illegal
gambling and prostitution.

The accuser is allegedly Jonathan Prestado, a self-confessed member of the
La Union-based syndicate who filed an affidavit before the National Police
Commission accusing Supts. Jesus Verzosa and Napoleon Castro plus six
others of being under the payroll of drug lords. He also charged officers
of trying to assassinate him and his gang companions to hide their
connections with the drug syndicate. CPD Castro has denied the accusations
claiming the move is a political ploy to delay the promotions of all the
accused.

As in the Pidal case, we ask Jonathan Prestado to take his complaint to
court. He has, of course, already done this when he filed his affidavit.
The thing is that he must present some evidence to support his contention.
It would be great if the facts regarding these very serious charges can be
studied to see if the charges can be elevated to court.

If it is indeed true that some high-ranking police officers are protectors
and sponsors of drug use in the country, then the war against drug use
should start in the police force itself. It would only be natural to expect
drug lords to try to bribe the local police to close their eyes to their
illegal activities. But it is not natural for police officers to do the
very opposite of what they are paid by the people to do, and that is,
uphold the law.

For sometime now, the rumors have been that people who want to be criminals
knew that the logical place to start their nefarious career is by joining
the police force. There, they can have their cake and eat it, too. They are
paid to fight crime and they are the ones that profit most from crime.

We are anxious to see how Jonathan Prestado's case will prosper in our
courts. He is a pot calling the kettle black. But if is telling the truth
and can present evidence to sustain his accusations, he will be doing his
country a great service.

In our opinion, the police force should never have been turned into a
national force. We don't know of any country in the world where this is so.
There was a time when Manila policemen were from Manila, Makati policemen
from Makati and that was so in every municipality. The neighborhood heroes
then were the neighborhood policemen. Today, a Makati policeman is just
assigned to Makati. He is often not familiar even with the streets in the
very place he is assigned.

The truth is that the national police today is the old constabulary that
was supposed to have been abolished when in fact it was retained under the
name of Philippine National Police. The municipal police forces all over
the country were the ones abolished.