Eleazar apologizes for scolding cop suspect in killing of woman
General Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday said he should have been more circumspect when reprimanding cops in public as he is the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In a TV interview, Eleazar apologized for his outburst, which was filmed, when he scolded Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan, the suspect in the death of a a 52- year old woman in Quezon City.
"I apologized for the outburst of my emotion. Day before, we reported good deeds... These things make me proud. We are having a hard time gaining the public's trust then this person (Zinampan) ruined everything," Eleazar said.
"I should have been more circumspect on my actions," he added.
Since his stint as the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), Eleazar is known for reprimanding cops publicly but he said as he is now the chief of the whole police organization, there are things that he should avoid doing.
"I'm the chief PNP now... There are things that we should not do anymore," Eleazar said.
He said if other civilian suspects are being presented to the public, cops who are involved in criminal acts should not be exempted.
He added that presenting suspects are being done upon request of the media.
Eleazar made the statement as some netizens criticized his video where he is shouting at Zinampan.
"I'm not defending this cop. I want to defend the more than 220,000 police personnel... Well, everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I accept that. What we have to do is to double time our effort to regain (the public's) trust and confidence," he said.
Eleazar also said that effective supervision is the key to stop cops from committing abuses.
"I believe that all the policies are there already. Effective supervision and implementation is needed... We have a lot of policies before entering the (police force). Bottomline, it needs the effective supervision of all the commanders in all the levels, not just the Chief PNP but all the commanders should not tolerate wrong doings," he said. Ella Dionisio/DMS