The PNP leadership may turn a blind eye but it can never deny that some police personnel routinely engage in such acts.

One time I chanced upon a police mobile car with a young boy seated inside. Apparently he was picked up for vagrancy. As I walked by I overheard one of the police officers verbally abusing the boy. The policeman wasn’t cursing at him but what he said sounded really ominous and I can only imagine more so to someone as young as that kid. The policeman said:

“Baka gusto mo tuluyan na kita.”

The policeman probably didn’t mean it. Maybe he was just trying to scare the kid. But still, that was no way for anyone to discipline a child.

Of course, the video we’ve been seeing this past few days is far more troubling.

To be honest, watching it made me angry. It made me wish the same or something worse would happen to that torturer. I even thought that if I were to do the honors of giving him hell, I’d also have a string attached to his genitals and with the other end of the string attached to a car I will have him dragged along a road littered with shattered glass and salt.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who had such evil thoughts.

Now that’s the thing. Why is it that our reactions to torture videos depend on context? Just imagine if it were Saddam Hussein, whose regime resulted in the torturing and killing of many innocent people, who was shown being tortured. How about Adolf Hitler? How about Sr. Insp. Joselito Binayug who has been tagged as the abuser in that torture video?

I posed these questions to a friend and he said there’s a big difference between thinking of doing something and actually doing it. He is of course correct. Still, I wonder. Would it take much to drive a person to actually do unspeakable things to another human being?

I wonder if Binayug was thinking along the same line as he was being interviewed by some reporters.

(excerpt from www.asiaone.com)

He briefly mentioned that one of his children had been held up near a precinct and told reporters that if they had children, they would know how it felt.

What I find more troubling about this whole issue is the fact that the PNP has failed to ensure that no policeman would ever carry out inhumane acts such as this. I dare say that up to this point everyone who has held a position of authority within the police organization simply lacked the balls and brains to formulate and implement measures that would put a stop to all forms of police abuses.

A witness who spoke anonymously on TV said that while many policemen object to the use of torture they feel they cannot do anything if the one doing it is a superior. While I think that is such a cop-out I can also understand how that would be a real problem. No one likes to jeopardize their career by telling on a superior.

That to me is a clue that points to a possible countermeasure. The PNP leadership should bring down all barriers preventing lower ranking personnel from reporting abuses committed by their superiors. It should also provide significant rewards to whistleblowers whose exposes are proven to be true. Spot promotions would probably sound appealing.

I’m not saying though that this is the ultimate solution. I still believe ensuring a humane and professional police force can be done by simply strengthening the screening and recruitment process. As it is, I think the PNP is doing a poor job at screening out undesirables. These of course include sociopaths and psychopaths as well as those with a history of boorishness and thuggery. I don’t mean to be discriminatory but I’m also convinced that people with impoverished backgrounds should be rejected from the police force outright. It’s simple. Why should people who are primarily motivated by a desperate need to make money fast be allowed to carry a gun and hide behind the shield of the law?

The PNP leadership probably won’t have the time to give these suggestions any thought right now. It needs to focus on managing the publicity nightmare brought on by this torture video. On this, I have one last suggestion for the PNP. Don’t approach the issue from a public relations standpoint. Instead, do the best you can do to actually get those involved in the atrocity and ensure their imprisonment by building a strong case against them.

In short, just do what you’re supposed to do.

Nananawagan ako sa iyo na huwag ka na sanang tumakbo para sa pagkapangulo. Nakikiusap ako na kung maaari lang sana ay isipin mo ang mas nakakabuti para sa sambayanang Pilipino. Kung maaari ay mas isipin mo na lang kapakanan ng mga kababayan mo kaysa ang pansariling interes.

Wala namang duda na kahit papaano ay malakas pa rin ang hatak mo sa mga tao. Wala ring duda na marami pa rin ang nahuhulog sa iyong diskarte. Malinaw na malinaw rin na alam mo rin ito. Sa katunayan naisip mo pa ngang gawin sa masang masang lugar tulad ng Tondo ang iyong pagdedeklara ng kandidatura. Kitang kita rin sa mga binitawan mong salita ang mala-showbiz mong atake para makuha ang simpatiya ng mga taong dati mo nang pinangakuang iaangat mula sa kahirapan.

Nakikiusap ako sa iyo Erap. Huwag ka nang tumakbo. Higit sa lahat nakikiusap ako na huwag mo namang tratuhing tanga ang mga hindi tanga at lalong huwag mo namang pagsamantalahan ang mga tatanga tanga. Huwag ka nang tumakbo Erap. Kung totoong gusto mo talagang tumulong sa mahihirap magagawa mo naman ito bilang isang pribadong mamamayan. Sa dami ng iyong pera marami kang pwedeng gawin. Bigyan kita ng ilang suhestiyon:

• magpatayo ka ng mga paaralang magbibigay ng libreng edukasyon sa mahihirap
• magsimula ka ng sarili mong programa para turuan ang mga mahihirap na tumayo sa sarili nilang mga paa; maaari mong ituro sa kanila kung paano magpayaman (pwede ring iba na lang ang magturo)
• mamahagi ka ng pondong pang-puhunan para sa mga mahihirap; gayahin mo ang Grameen Bank (napakagandang programa nun)
• magtayo ka ng negosyong makapagbibigay ng trabaho sa napakaraming tao; gayahin mo si Cecilio Kwok Pedro, ang may-ari ng Hapee Toothpaste
• magtayo ka ng mga komunidad para sa mga mahihirap tulad ng Gawad Kalinga
• magpatayo ka ng mga hospital na magbibigay ng libreng serbisyo sa mga mahihirap

Kita mo naman. Marami rami na rin ang mga suhestiyong naibigay ko. Sigurado ako kaya mo ring makaisip ng iba pang proyekto na pwede mong gawin para makatulong kahit pa hindi ka presidente ng Pilipinas.

Seryosong panawagan ito Erap. Kung totoong mahal mo ang mga mahihirap, igagalang mo sila at hindi mo sasamantalahin ang kanilang kakulangan sa edukasyon. Hindi mo ipiprisinta ang sarili mo sa kanila bilang kandidato kahit pa alam mo namang mahihirapan kang tumanggi sa mga mala-lintang personalidad na nasa paligid mo (ganyan naman talaga ang barkadahan di ba?) sakaling manalo ka. Hindi mo rin sila paaasahin sa wala.

Tama na sana ang nakapaglingkod ka bilang mayor,  senador at pangulo noon kahit pa hindi mo nga natapos ang iyong termino sa Malacanang. OK na iyun.  Kung ako sa iyo tutulong na lang talaga ako bilang pribadong mamamayan. Mas masarap iyon at hindi ka pa masyadong mabuburyong dahil walang babatikos sa iyo. Tinitiyak ko rin sa iyo na sa ganitong paraan mas higit mong maibabalik ang bango ng pangalang Estrada.

Ano? Pwede mo bang mapagbigyan ang aking pakiusap? Umaasa ako na kahit papaano ay pagiisipan mo ang mga suhestiyon ko. Gusto ko lang naman sana kasi na makita ko na talagang mahal mo ang Pilipinas at gagawin mo ang tunay na makakabuti para dito.

Salamat.