Philippine National Police chief, General Benjamin Acorda Jr., has appealed to the public for understanding, saying that a few rotten eggs in the basket should not taint the entire organization and that many police officers have, in fact, died in the line of duty.

I could not help but agree with General Acorda here, considering the recent killing of three cops during the service of an arrest warrant. The poor fallen police officers may have had little inkling that they were about to meet a superior force of several men armed to the teeth.

Nonetheless, it’s a losing perception battle that the PNP is waging, given the high-profile cases that should merit the dismissal and immediate relief of those involved while they are afforded the opportunity to prove themselves innocent before the courts.

There’s this alleged theft of P27 million, whose lurid details have been spilling out in hearing after hearing of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, seemingly not ending anytime soon, as the panel had sought to detain the police officers involved for a month.

For allegedly lying through their teeth, the cops, including the head of the Southern Police District at the time of the claimed money heist, Brig. Gen. Roderick Mariano and its comptroller, Col. Charlie Cabradilla, were ordered to remain on the House premises for 30 days.

From two weeks, the House detention of the SPD cops earlier held by the House panel for contempt was also increased to a month, so they’d stay with their two ex-bosses in custody as they mull what to say in the coming hearings.

As the policemen are facing criminal and administrative cases, they may naturally choose to stick to their stories and weather out the House detention rather than compromise their defense before the courts on the arrest of four Chinese nationals and the alleged theft of the P27 million last September.

Armed with a search warrant, the cops, according to testimonies given before the House panel, were able to seize a .45-caliber pistol that the panel surmised was planted by the police officers. The gun was claimed to have been turned over earlier to the police by the bodyguard of the Chinese before it was found and later seized.

A policeman testified before the panel that, before the service of the search warrant on the Chinese, he had disassembled the firearm for painting and processing (defacement or removal of the serial number?) by some other cops. The gun seized by virtue of the warrant was later proven to be the same gun earlier surrendered by the bodyguard through a ballistic examination.

While the serial number may have been tampered with, the bore of the gun’s barrel was not, thus its identification using records of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office. The pistol, after all, was registered, thus it was a simple matter of looking at the bullets fired from it and comparing them with the sample taken during the gun’s registration. Barrel riflings impart distinctive characters on bullets fired, serving as veritable fingerprints for any and all registered firearms.

Surely, in filing House Resolution 1461, Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop opened the proverbial can of worms in the alleged unlawful arrest of the four Chinese for several hours without the benefit of their being read their rights and informed of the charges against them. If true, this would fall within that scheme called “hulidap,” of people being arrested so they could be robbed blind. That, but on a scale much grander than previous examples of robber cops came to light.

General Acorda’s plea for perspective amidst the undeniable tragedies of duty-bound officers is not without merit. Yet, the rot within the Philippine National Police cannot be shrugged off with platitudes. The saga of alleged corruption and misconduct, spotlighted in the recent House hearings, casts a damning shadow over the entire force.

From missing millions to suspicious arrests, the narrative reads like a script from a noir thriller, with cops playing the role of villains. As the drama unfolds in the hallowed halls of the House, it’s clear that the truth, like justice itself, may remain elusive.