Leadership by example remains the most effective way to enforce discipline in the Philippine National Police, former PNP chief and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Wednesday.
Lacson said a police chief who personally avoids extortion and criminal conduct gains the moral authority to demand the same behavior from rank-and-file officers.
“When I was Chief PNP, I had only one baseline – leadership by example. If the Chief PNP does not extort or engage in crime, he has the moral authority to tell his men to follow his example,” he said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
He raised the point amid a string of recent crimes involving police personnel, including a rape case in Cebu, a stabbing incident between police officers inside Camp Crame, and a shooting in Negros Oriental where a policeman killed three fellow officers and a female civilian in a restaurant-bar.
Lacson recalled that during his tenure as PNP chief from 1999 to 2001, he enforced discipline by removing rogue officers from the service, a move he said resulted in high public trust and approval ratings for the police.
He expressed confidence that acting PNP chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. would take a similar approach in restoring discipline within the ranks. “Nartatez knows my style as Chief PNP. I hope he with the help of the DILG secretary will discipline the police,” Lacson said.
Lacson added that close coordination with Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla would be crucial in addressing what he described as “ICU” police officers — those who are Inept, Corrupt and Undisciplined.
Beyond leadership style, Lacson said institutional reforms are needed to strengthen internal accountability mechanisms within the police force.
He said he intends to file legislation that would make the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service independent from the organization it is tasked to police.
“The IAS must be separate from the PNP and have more teeth and more power. For now, it seems to be an adjunct of the PNP and is not truly independent,” Lacson said, adding that an empowered watchdog is essential to sustaining discipline beyond any single chief’s term.
