Where the Buck Stops

They say that when you take no action or make no choice, you are taking an action and making a choice.

This theory of inaction was illustrated in last week's unprecedented situation in which policemen and officers in two municipalities were simultaneously removed from their posts due to their inaction on a similar issue. The serious turn of events has rightfully sparked widespread attention and concern.

The entire 49-man police force of Bamban Municipal Police Station in Tarlac and the provincial director of Pampanga and the chief of police of Porac town were relieved from their posts. That was quick.

The officers who replaced the 49 relieved cops came from the PRO-3 1st and 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Companies in nearby Tarlac City, Concepcion and Capas towns.

I wonder if the decision to remove them stemmed from their mere negligence. It was a complex situation likely involving underlying factors that required meticulous examination by the police high command as part of the ongoing investigation.

Philippine National Police chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil announced in a press conference that the regional director of the Central Luzon Police Regional Office or PRO-3 was being investigated for alleged unreported killings that took place in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator or Pogo hubs in his area of responsibility. Such unreported killings, he said, were  unusual and had raised serious questions.

PRO-3 covers the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga, where some illegal Pogo hub operations, particularly in Bamban and Porac towns, respectively, were recently discovered.

While the PNP chief did not mention names, the PNP website identified the PRO-3 regional director as Police Brig. Gen. Jose S. Hidalgo Jr.  Marbil stressed that killings that were not properly investigated were "not normal." Why are there foreigners dying there, asked the PNP chief.

According to Marbil, the PNP holds regional directors "accountable," but he stopped short of saying that Hidalgo and the relieved police officers were protectors of the Pogos. So why was Hidalgo not recalled while facing an investigation, like the other lower-ranking police officers who were relieved?

"Our term is not that he (Hidalgo) is a protector, but there's a semblance of something going on," Marbil clarified.

I could understand Marbil's careful use of words because there is an ongoing investigation, and the law provides that Hidalgo is presumed innocent. However, a serious question persists: Is Hidalgo beyond reproach? Is he in control of the region?

Consider all the unsolved prominent cases during Hidalgo's term in Central Luzon. There is the missing beauty queen Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend; the buy-bust operation conducted by the Tarlac PPO which resulted in the death of an innocent bystander in Gerona, Tarlac last month; the shooting incident involving an Indian national in Barangay Camias, San Miguel, Bulacan last 27 June; the series of robbery/ hold-up incidents in Central Luzon (Alfamart, a pawnshop, among others); and above all, the illegal Pogo hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.

The public would be pleased to hear not just updates but of actual results of their investigations in all these cases.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos has raised concern that illegal Pogo money could bankroll several regional politicians in the 2025 elections. Pogo activities in other regions could also finance local or national candidates, so the police in the different areas should be vigilant.

Based on the word around town, there are speculations about Hidalgo's concern for his future with the police force. He might consider leaving to run for a local political office in the upcoming elections. These rumors are circulating amid the backdrop of his potentially tarnished career. Some draw parallels between his situation and that of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.

What could be worse and more shameful than your own boss holding a press conference and announcing on national TV that you are under investigation? I hope his boss bothers to return to national TV to declare his innocence if Hidalgo is cleared.

There may be pinpointing in the end, but when the dust settles the regional police commander is responsible for everything that occurred in his area of jurisdiction—no one else.

The doctrine of command responsibility, a legal principle that holds a superior accountable for the actions of his subordinates, stops at his door.

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