Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
During the Transfer of Leadership in the Philippine National Police

[Delivered in Camp Crame, Quezon City, July 9, 1994]

Time for renewal

WE ARE GATHERED here today to witness the transfer of leadership in the Philippine National Police (PNP)—a rite of passage that never fails to evoke in us feelings of sadness and expectation.

This change signifies, as it does today, that we close a chapter in an organization’s history.

And the turnover ceremony provides a fitting occasion to recall the incumbent’s achievements, and a leadership that we must, regretfully, relinquish. It is a painful moment, more so for all who leaned on him for strength and guidance.

And as we firmly move on to a new chapter, we nurture high hopes that the leadership passes on to a worthy successor, and that we will have a yet stronger and a more effective organization. For the turnover represents not only an end but also and, more important, a beginning, a renewal.

The PNP reform process

We cherished these high hopes of reinvigoration here in May last year when I presided over the turnover of the PNP command to General Umberto A. Rodriguez.

Today we can proudly say we were not disappointed in our hopes, and that our trust and confidence in General Rodriguez were well placed.

General Rodriguez took over as PNP chief at a critical period, when the service was besieged by continuous crises within and without. At that time there was a great public outcry over scalawags in the organization tarnishing the shield of the PNP.

It was against this backdrop that we started a wide-ranging reform aimed to raise the level of effectiveness of the police service and to restore public trust in the organization.

This reform culminated in the changing of leaders at various levels—the infusion of new blood and vigor in the PNP chain of command.

General Rodriguez was an important element of the process of reform. In assuming the top post, he was expected to give his best and continue enhancing the professionalism and image of the PNP.

He proved a wise choice. With a firm and even hand, with wisdom and discernment, he guided the organization at a critical moment and placed it on the road to recovery.

Today we commend and offer our thanks to General Rodriguez for his worthy achievements in pursuing Oplan Paglalansag, or the dismantling of private armed groups, and in assiduously pressing on with Oplan Pagbabago, aimed to enhance value formation and further weed out the unworthy and the inefficient.

Full recovery for the PNP, however, is still a long way off. And retirement has caught up with General Rodriguez.

A new leader

Today we wish him Godspeed as he embarks on new endeavors, and we welcome his equally able successor, Director General Recaredo Sarmiento II.

General Sarmiento is eminently suited to assume the top leadership in the PNP.

He has an outstanding record as an officer. He brings to the top post a wealth of experience as Capcom director, special action force commander, provincial commander and other key positions in various regions of our country.

I personally know him as a man of integrity having a no. nonsense style of leadership, and utterly dedicated to the goals and programs of our Government.

These qualities will be positive assets in the further transformation of this organization. Indeed his main challenge-as it is of everyone in the police service-it to continue rebuilding the PNP into one that our people can fully depend on.

What the organization stands for

In this changing of the guard, it is necessary to remind once more the members of the PNP of what the organization stands for, and to rededicate themselves to the missions they must accomplish to be worthy stewards of the public trust.

The PNP is a vital institution of the Republic, created to protect the people’s welfare and safety, and uphold their rights through effective law enforcement, crime prevention and a relentless campaign against lawbreakers.

Historically, the PNP has also been tasked to defend the constitutional Government against dissidence and rebellion.

Your main mission is to keep our homes and streets safe and keep criminals from conducting their nefarious activities so that the citizenry can go about their normal pursuits without disturbance while enhancing the republic’s stability in the nation’s march toward modernization and progress.

Tasks and challenges

Carrying out this mission is a great challenge to all of you in the force.

The organization has been saddled by such constraints as lack of adequately trained personnel, insufficient logistic support, faulty recruitment mechanisms, and an inadequate compensation program that is not commensurate to the risks faced and service rendered by police officers.

I am aware of these constraints and appreciate the sacrifices you must make to compensate for them.

Let me assure you that we will continue to take measures to overcome these inadequacies, particularly that of improving working conditions in the organization. We know only too well that any resource put into the PNP to resolve its internal problems is well spent, because it will ultimately redound to more effective service for the people.

From without, the PNP has to deal with public apathy, exemplified by the refusal of victims to press charges against offenders or the reluctance of witnesses to testify in court against criminals.

That is why it is so important to improve the image and fortify the backbone of the service so as to win public cooperation and support, which are vital to the accomplishment of your missions.

Keeping a clear vision

We can look for help from no one else but ourselves. On this front, we cannot afford to lose, for defeat signifies the end of the usefulness of this organization. We must restore the sheen of the PNP shield, increase its credibility by rendering each day, honest, dedicated and effective work.

We must always keep our visions for the PNP clearly in sight. There is the never-ending task to prevent and suppress crime, to protect the nation’s internal security, to maintain peace and order, and to enforce the law faithfully.

Without civic order, public peace and security, we cannot hope to attain our greater vision of socioeconomic recovery and growth, of a better tomorrow for ourselves and our children.

That is why your organization is a vital Government institution. You are guardians not only of peace and order as law enforcers, but also of progress. You are an active partner in the national effort to push our beloved Philippines out of its poverty and on to a respected place in the community of nations.

The PNP, I should like to believe, has weathered the worst and now can renew its commitments to the nation with greater chances of success.

I now would like to see more effective actions and positive accomplishments, for nothing can refurbish the PNP’s image better than solid achievements against criminals and crime.

I have great faith in your capacity for hard work and sacrifice, and your desire to contribute to the internalization of reforms in the organization and in the public service.

I am confident that you will give your new chief the support and cooperation he will need to attain the PNP’s vision of an effective, efficient and newly energized organization. We need such an organization to underpin our shared vision of “Philippines 2000.”

To director General Sarmiento and to all the members of the PNP, I say: Give me a better report card by the end of 1994 and advance with all sectors in our quest for excellence, peace and progress.