WHAT’S WITH MENDOZA TO

DESERVE TERM EXTENSION?

Is the Philippine National Police running out of good officers?

Assistant House Minority Floor Leader Gilbert Remulla posed this question as he reiterated his appeal to President Arroyo to reverse her decision to extend the term of PNP chief Leandro Mendoza who is retiring on March.

The Cavite solon said he still could not figure out why Mendoza should deserve the term extension because apart from his involvement in various controversies, the PNP chief also failed miserably in battling crime and in restoring public trust and confidence to the police.

Remulla said if only Mrs. Arroyo would try to look harder, she would be surprised to find out that the PNP is rich with other senior officers who deserves the PNP’s top post because of their unquestionable integrity and competence.

He said the PNP deserves to have fresh leadership so that new ideas that could help improve its image and performance can be set into motion 

“ I really could not understand why Gen. Mendoza deserves a term extension. Corruption among policemen manning the streets is back with vengeance, kidnappings and other heinous crimes are on the rise and lest Mrs. Arroyo have already forgotten, the PNP has made itself a model of incompetence when it bungled the investigation of the Nida Blanca case,” Remulla said.

He added that Mendoza’s alleged links with a Cebu-based drug lord who was seen playing golf with him last year is yet to be fully clarified.

Remulla surmised that one of the possible reasons why President Arroyo have decided to extend Mendoza’s term is the absence of a replacement who can be blindly loyal to her administration

He said National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) chief, Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, who has been earlier named by Mrs. Arroyo as Mendoza’s successor, is a known protégé of former President Ramos.

“ Mrs. Arroyo apparently wants to have a PNP chief who is blindly loyal to her and not someone who could effectively do his job as PNP chief,” Remulla said.

The neophyte solon also echoed the concern of Filipino-Chinese Teresita Ang- See, President of the Citizens Action Against Crime (CAAC), that the President’s decision to extend Mendoza’s term might create the impression that her administration is not really keen on improving the PNP which is the country’s largest law enforcement agency.

He said that in the wake of various controversies and bungled investigations involving the PNP, and the fact that “kotong” cops are again back in the streets, people have again started to shy away from the police. He added that policemen who were once restricted from going into nightclubs are again seen in their favorite hangouts.

“ It is really distressing that nowadays, people would prefer to go to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rather than the PNP when in fact, it is the largest law enforcement agency in the country. The PNP is again going backwards under Mendoza’s watch, ” he said.