"Pulis Patola," "Pulis Matulis," and all the other monikers that we give to the policemen. Who can blame the people for calling them such? The media is feasting on the mishaps that the few policemen have done, which in turn would backfire to the Philippine National Police (PNP) organization as a whole. This is heightened by the "lag-lag bala" issue and all the viral videos on the internet where the main character and sometimes the subject of condemnation is a poor policemen.
But, who are really these men in uniform without the prying eyes of the camera? I have been working with them for more than a year now since I took oath last year as a Non-Uniformed Personnel or NUP. NUP's are part of the PNP organization but they are duly assigned to do tasks that are bound for mostly office works only. Hence, they are not entitled to carry a gun and they are not trained for combat.
My everyday duty as a NUP consists of interactions and close coordination with the "Pulis." One year is not enough for me to say that I know them very well already but here are ten things that I have observed and eventually learned about the policemen.
1. Their working hours disables them to have an abundant time with their family - It is a common knowledge that every police officer is on-call, 24/7. However, many are not even aware that they are required to render 12 hours of duty everyday and sometimes a situation may arise which forces them to work for more than 12 hours, short of not actually going home. Granted, they have lots of benefits and pays that compensate them but still, these are not enough if you cannot even enjoy the money with your family whom you seldom see because of the fact that you are rendering more hours on duty than enjoying the time with your family.
2. A police officer's promotion is not really fast and quick to achieve.
Case in point, many Police Officer 1 or PO1 stay in their rank for as long as 5 years. Sometimes, it's actually longer! This is because of the fact that there are many requirements to meet when an officer is vying for promotion, not to mention the promotable quota that they may not be unfortunate enough to be part of. Compared to other government employees who can be promoted as soon as one year, this is almost impossible to the members of PNP.
3. Their nature of work makes it inevitable for them to have "chicks"
Enough with the cliche about a man who won't cheat to his partner if he really loves her. Yes, it's true, but given the reality of how aggressive our generation has become, everything is changing. Take it from this real-life story of a police officer that I know.Yes, he loves his wife dearly and he has no intention of cheating on her. But as years go by in his duty, he can't help but meet women who are actually throwing themselves on him. This is despite the fact that he is not really the Alden Richards type of guy. So the question remains here... Why are some policemen playboy or polygamous? The answer is this. It's the uniform! Some women, well, many women find the men in uniform attractive (whether or not they really are.) It's just that, a man who wears a PNP uniform automatically becomes appealing to the girls when they start donning the blue and green clothes. Since they are most of the time on field and exposed to the public, they can't help but meet new people. Should they resist the advancing moves and aggressiveness of the girls, they'll be teased by their colleagues or worse, hinted as gay. If they'll reason out that they are loyal to their wives that's why they don't cheat on them, they'll just get the "haha!" But worry not because there still many policemen who are loyal to their wives/girlfriends. These are the men who find it okay to have their ego laughed at.
4. They are susceptible to bribery.
I'll start by saying that not all of the policemen are guilty of bribery, corruption and money extortion. Let me relate this to the situation of politicians. Who really makes them lie and steal money? They are the public themselves! In times of crisis and in need, the public knocks on the door of the politicians who, in turn, will be needing huge scad of money to provide for the relentless demand for money of the people. Should these politicians resist "helping" them through financial means, they might end up losing in the next election. In turn, these politicians will device evil means and ways in order to sustain the great demand for financial support to the people.
When it comes to the policemen, many are the times that they have been bribed with money in exchange of a non-confiscation of driver's license, etc. The sad truth is, there are still some men in uniform who are greedy albeit the Chief PNP's moves to dismiss them from service if they cannot be disciplined. But believe me, there are still a lot of policemen who resist the easy-money temptation. I know one who actually shoved away one hundred thousand pesos in hard cash right in front of the face of the briber.
5. Many of them are unsung heroes.
Out of all the good deeds and heroic acts of the members of PNP, only a few are highly celebrated on TV and therefore known by the masses. Thanks to the social media because somehow, they are starting to be recognized for their good deeds and heroic acts without the need for press release.
6. Some actually receive less salary every pay day compared to construction workers.
First of all, I have nothing against construction workers. In fact, I admire them for all the hard-work that they do under the blaring heat of the sun in exchange for a meek amount compared to those who work in air-conditioned offices. Truth be told, some policemen with high ranks actually receive less than 3,000 pesos every pay-roll! The reason for this? LOAN! They are easy to acquire yet they take really long to pay. In my opinion, loans can really help the officers in need but they can really damage the motivation of the policemen who, in the end,will just receive a very meek amount too. I think there should be a policy that would discourage the policemen from loaning an amount that would make their families hungry. Better yet, their salaries should be raised!
7. They are really working a lot!
Before, some policemen, especially those assigned in quiet and peaceful areas have less to do compared to others. However, with the entry of SOP Lambat-Sibat, the paperworks and documentation increased. But, it is not really a bad thing because if you will observe our surroundings, there is a tremendous increase in police presence, especially that of the patrollers. I am not name-dropping some government agencies but I think, PNP is sometimes over-tasked and over-worked. From crowd dispersal, rescue, monitoring, traffic, and a lot more tasks that are normally assigned to other government agencies or departments. In short, PNP, is all-in-one!
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