PNP chief praises ‘clean’ state of Mandaue City Police Station 1

WHAT a difference a few weeks and the relief of 30 personnel of the Mandaue City Police Station 1 for failing to comply with the intensified cleanliness policy (ICP) of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar make.

On Sunday, July 11, 2021, Eleazar was in Cebu to inspect the police station and marveled at the changes.

“Very good. I see that everything is in place. You know that I was coming to Cebu and you have prepared for this but I also know that you have rectified the problem. Pictures were sent to me to prove that you have corrected the problem. It doesn’t matter. What is important is that I see the improvement,” he said in a mix of Tagalog and English.

Eleazar said the PNP made an example of the Mandaue City Police Station 1 to warn police stations nationwide to take the ICP seriously.

When a team, which included members of the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) from Camp Crame, first inspected the Mandaue City Police Station 1, they found empty beer bottles outside and stray dogs wandering in and out of the station, littering the front yard with their poop.

According to Eleazer, the inspector general of the IAS sent him photos of the situation at the station, which he then forwarded to all PNP regional directors via group Viber.

“A few weeks ago, this was the police station that I wanted to visit after I received our inspector general’s report on his inspection here. It was something to make your blood boil because, in spite of constant reminders to comply with the intensified cleanliness policy, it was clear the police station did not,” he said in a mix of Tagalog and English.

But during his visit to the police station on Sunday, the PNP chief was impressed by the vast improvement.

The empty beer bottles were gone. So were the stray dogs and their poop.

He checked the investigation, administration and intelligence offices and these were all spotless.

Eleazar explained that the ICP is a simple directive that instills discipline among police personnel.

If they can’t keep their police station clean, then they’d have a problem complying with a bigger directive, he said.

He said the ICP complements the internal cleansing policy that was launched by his predecessors to rid the organization of scalawag cops.

The PNP chief said the relief of Mandaue City Police Station 1’s 30 personnel should serve as a lesson to all police stations that he is serious in implementing the ICP.

Eleazar said police personnel should help keep their station clean and not leave all the cleaning to janitors and errand boys or girls.

As for the 30 relieved police personnel, they continue to clean different police stations in Mandaue City and attend seminars on public service and the importance of cleanliness. (AYB / PJB)