MANILA — Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. proposed the establishment of an independent selection committee to screen and evaluate the candidates to be the next director-general of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Marcos, chair of the Senate Local Government Committee, believes that President Benigno Aquino III should not use friendship or any kind of personal involvement as the basis in choosing the next PNP head.
“The President should not just look under his nose and go beyond friendship in choosing the next PNP chief,” said Marcos in an ABS-CBN report.
By creating an independent body to determine the qualifications of the candidates, “friends of the President will not bump off those who are most competent, most loyal to the country, most upright and most public service-oriented candidates.”
In a report by the Manila Bulletin, Marcos also noted that “the selection process should not be secret and must be open to the public.”
The veteran senator voiced his concerns about the selection process for the head of the police force after the tragic results of the Mamasapano operation in January 2015 — a sentiment has also shared when he delivered a privilege speech on June 9, asking the President to stop giving resigned PNP head General Alan Purisima “special treatment.”
In the same privilege speech, Marcos called for the President to completely and permanently remove Purisima from the police force and file charges against the resigned general in relation to his involvement to the Mamasapano incident.
“Five months after the 44 SAF troopers were murdered in the infamous Mamasapano massacre, General Purisima still enjoys the comfort of home and the company of his friends while the orphans of the fallen policemen cry for justice,” Marcos said. “It seems that his closeness with the President is working favorably for him.”