Senate asked: Investigate the PNP

MANILA, Feb. 17, 2011—An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has asked the Senate to investigate the alleged questionable activities the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez wants the Senate or Congress to look into the alleged “send-off money” for outgoing PNP chiefs.

Through an impartial inquiry, the head of the CBCP’s Committee on Public Affairs said the people would know where their taxes really go.

“I am encouraging our law makers to investigate the alleged anomaly in the PNP… same thing of what they did into the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Iñiguez said over Radio Veritas.

The bishop stressed he is also counting on President Benigno Aquino III to do something since he vowed to rid the government of corruption.

Like in the military, Senator Panfilo Lacson who is still in hiding for murder charges yesterday disclosed an alleged send-off tradition in the police hierarchy.

A former PNP chief himself, Lacson, in a statement, revealed that when he took over the post in 1999, he was informed of a P40 million per year in “commander’s reserve” at the exclusive disposal of the PNP chief.

But the senator denied receiving such money during his watch saying “I was never interested.”

Lacson further disclosed that the PNP chief also gets a monthly gas allowance equivalent to the consumption of 50 vehicles and high limit credit card for both personal and official purposes.

The senator was earlier hunted down by the police authorities for his double murder charges. The Court of Appeals has already junked the cases against him.

The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) earlier made a similar appeal to the government in order to unearth the alleged corruption in the PNP “whose reputation has gone down.”

“We also pray that something similar to this (investigation in the military) will come out from the ranks of the PNP,” the EBF said in statement.

Aside from corruption, the group said the reported involvement of police officers in human rights violations and the commission of heinous crimes should also be investigated. (CBCPNews)