Police matters: Police officers and kin of enlisted policemen in ARMM claim that issuance of firearms and even acceptance into the force has become a source of corruption here, but its chief says PNP offices in ARMM, like this one taken in Parang, Maguindanao is now working hard "to change for good." ALAN DAVIS

PARANG, Maguindanao -- Police recruits in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are being forced to pay up to PhP 20,000 (USD 465) before being issued their own firearms, according to reliable sources here.

It is also claimed that when some local police officers complained last year to the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila about the alleged illegal profiteering, the regional department was simply ordered to investigate itself. The subsequent report back to Camp Crame in Quezon City was said to find the local force corruption-free.

Not so according to several people here including a serving police officer and several police dependents. Four different sources – including the serving officer, the mother of a recently enlisted policeman and another police dependent – made the accusations of corruption in the Police Regional Office (PRO) of the PNP in ARMM to the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP). A fourth source PPTRP met with occupies a senior position elsewhere.

All declined to go on the record citing safety or job security reasons. Despite that, the visit and questions were roundly welcomed. “Mabuti naman may bumaba dito na media para mag-investigate (It’s good that the media really came to investigate),” the serving officer said.

The practice of demanding under-the-counter sums or lagay for service firearms in the PNP ARMM appears to be a long-standing one – and yet sources claim the price has risen since the Maguindanao massacre in November 2009.

Allegations that recruits have to effectively buy their own guns were made to PPTRP alongside the more serious claim that positions in the ARMM police force are up for sale.

The senior officer in charge of police operations in ARMM denied the charges and maintained that while they might have been problems in the past, the force “is [now] working hard to change for good” and that “records can show the improvement.”

“I believe people around us can say that PRO ARMM at present is a very different PRO ARMM,” Chief Supt. Bienvenido G Latag, PNP Regional Director, said in response to a series of written questions sent to him last week.

Yet others dispute this claim, saying say that far from being reduced in the wake of the Maguindanao massacre, corrupt practices within the ARMM police are as bad as ever –if not actually increasing.

About 1,000 police officers in 22 police stations in the province of Maguindanao were ordered dismissed in December 2009 by then PNP chief Jesus Verzosa and government prosecutors said then that at least nine officers were involved in the massacre.

The shock and huge outrage over the killings and the alleged complicity of some PNP officers here is believed to have led to a step change in police operations and control in Maguindanao and ARMM.

Getting worse?

But at least as far as guns and recruitment are concerned, that is not so according to some here.

“Malala na, garapalan na talaga (It’s getting worse now. It’s more rampant and brazen),” a serving PNP officer said during a visit to the area to investigate claims first reported last month.

Some 100 police are said to be based here and serve both the municipality itself and run all PNP administrative affairs in the wider ARMM area from their base at Camp Brigadier General Salipada K Pendatun. A second regional office is in the process of being established.

PPTRP was given the name and rank of one senior police official accused of selling police guns to his junior colleagues but decline to publish it because the writers have not had the chance to speak with him.

The current cost for a new recruit to buy his own sidearm is said to be PhP 7,000 (USD 163), while those officers assigned to special tactical squads or close protection duties reportedly face having to pay PhP 20,000 for their M-15 ArmaLites. The figure of PhP 25,000 (USD 581) was also quoted for an M-16.

The practice does not seem to be new. One source said that in 2006, the cost for a pistol was PhP 2,000 (USD 46). Another maintained such corruption was putting lives at risk because officers without the proper weapons were avoiding responding to emergency calls.

Latag flatly denied the claims, saying that while his department had received allegations, it had “initiated investigations and intelligence monitoring” and had found no evidence. He did however admit the selling of guns to new recruits may have happened in the past -- but he said: “The PRO has stopped this practice.”

Asked why people would make such claims if untrue, Latag suggested “some policemen who were not given/issued firearms” might be trying to “destroy the reputation of the logistics office.”

Several sources here claimed that far higher lagay or under-the-counter payments of up to PhP 350,000 (USD 8,139) were being asked from new candidates or their sponsors before they can pass the PRO ARMM selection process and be accepted into police ranks.

But this too is rejected by Latag who said that “recruitment is supervised by the NAPOLCOM [the National Police Commission which is constitutionally tasked to administer and oversee the PNP].”

In a face-to-face interview, the serving police officer joked how three police trainee places could be bought for a million pesos (USD 23,255) – an effective “discount” of PhP 50,000 (USD 1,163) over slots bought separately.

While would-be recruits can try and apply themselves, the traditional way to enter the PNP ranks in the ARMM is said to be as a nominee of a mayor, governor or other influential figure. Such people are offered police vacancies to fill and officers effectively end up working for and are designated to, their “sponsor”. Very often they are said to be relatives of the politician. The sponsors are those who ultimately pay the “enrolment fee.”

It is claimed the recruitment process into the PNP ARMM is nothing but an illegal financial transaction and only helps to give new police recruits the clear impression everything can be bought or is for sale in the PRO here.

If the claims about the recruitment process are true, it suggests a very unhealthy relationship between law enforcement officers and local political leaders – as exemplified by the Maguindanao massacre where some local police officers were said to be beholden to those Ampatuans charged with the killings.

Fixers were also allegedly often used to ensure short listed and “tapped” recruits who pay the necessary “fees” pass all the required tests and exams to join. Only the police neurology test is said to be corruption-free because it is based on the objective scoring of a candidate’s answers and not on subjective assessment which may be subject to manipulation or influence.

Yet Latag insisted that “it is the policy of the Regional Director [of] PRO ARMM to immediately post the result of every activity so that the result cannot be manipulated.”

He added the allegations about guns and position buying might be coming from “people who can’t enter into [the] PNP or those who were not given FA [firearms] issue because they are not qualified.”

Napolcom probe

The PNP's famous motto is again put to test following allegations of corruption within its ranks in ARMM. ALAN DAVIS

In an interview in Manila, Luisito Palmera of Napolcom confirmed that as a consequence of the allegations made to PPTRP it has started its own investigation.

“So far, I have already asked Napolcom's Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service Unit if they have previous knowledge or data on this. It turns out there has been no previous information,” Commissioner Palmera told PPTRP.

Palmera is one of four Napolcom commissioners, having been appointed in January 2010 after 36 years in the PNP and retiring as Chief Superintendent of the PNP in Region 4B (Southern Luzon).

He agreed that the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame should be doing its own investigation of the allegations – a criticism levelled against it by local officers in Parang. When contacted to ask what they knew of the allegations made and how they had responded, PNP headquarters redirected PPTRP’s detailed questions to the PNP regional office without any comment.

Yet Commissioner Palmera expressed confidence and satisfaction in the oversight capacity of PNP in the regions.

"Our oversight system is ok,” he said. “In fact, we are more than happy to dismiss erring officials and we welcome complaints. But we also give due process to those facing complaints"

He also expressed full confidence in Chief Supt. Latag and added that if the accusations about service guns being for sale were true, it was down to a few “scalawags.”

Asked about the practice of PNP appointments being in the hands of local politicians which was seemingly such a factor in the Maguindanao massacre, Palmera said: "It is the law. If we want to see changes, then we need to change the law. But the peace and order is the responsibility of any elected official, so it is only right for the law to mandate governors and mayors to choose the PNP regional director and the local PNP chief, respectively. The majority of the areas use this law judiciously, but there are very rare cases like in Maguindanao where this was abused."

He added that it was only right for media to investigate such allegations: "[The] media acts as a deterrent to the crime,” he said. “Police officials should be on their toes. But we should also make sure that these complaints are not mere generalizations. We must ask during our investigation where did your sources file their complaint, how many they are, what happened. We urge them to give particular numbers and cases, not mere generalizations."

But when it was suggested that people both inside and outside the force might be wary about making an official complaint for reasons of job security and personal safety, Palmera said: "Try using the system now. This is part of the transformation program PNP is undergoing.”

“Napolcom as an institution is committed to do its mandate,” he said. “It is solid about reforms and in supporting the President in his Daang Matuwid (Straight Path) program. We will not tolerate any misdeeds or misbehavior. We see leadership now and we believe in it." Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project

(Alan Davis is the director of the Philippine Public Transparency Project and Rorie Fajardo is its project manager.)