By Pearl Gumapos
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Health Service is now finalizing its recommendations for the conduct of psychiatric-psychological exams on all PNP personnel, following cases of grave misconduct of some police officers.
A recent case is that of a police sergeant who went on a shooting rampage inside the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters late Friday night (June 25), killing one police sergeant and wounding another.
Police Executive Master Sergeant Reynante Dipasupil came to the headquarters drunk at around 11:30 p.m. and indiscriminately fired his gun, wounding Staff Sergeant Reynaldo Cordova.
In attempting to escape, a shootout ensued among Dipasupil, Staff Sergeant Ferdinand Francia, and Master Sergeant Romeo Cantal. Dipasupil and Cantal were both shot and later died in hospital.
PNP Chief Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the Health Service recommendations will be considered in coming up with guidelines for the regular assessment of the emotional and mental health of all policemen.
“This recent incident at MPD, along with the previous ones, highlights the need for us to closely look into the overall state of our men,” Eleazar said.
“Hindi nagtatapos sa kung paano nila ginagawa ang kanilang trabaho, kasama dito ang pagtingin sa kanilang physical, emotional, at lalo na ang kanilang mental state,” he added.
Eleazar earlier said that he was considering conducting such exams at least every three years to further improve the general welfare of PNP personnel, especially those involved in ground operations.
Eleazar also praised the persons responsible for stopping the suspect, and gave assurance of aid to the victims’ families.
“Sinasaluduhan natin ang mga pulis na pumigil sa paga-amok nitong si Dipasupil, partikular si PMSG Romeo Cantal na nagbuwis ng kanyang buhay. We grieve with the family of Sgts. Dipasupil and Cantal and we assure them of our assistance, along with another policeman who was wounded during that attack,” Eleazar said.
Eleazar said the MPD is conducting a thorough investigation of the incident.
“Kailangan alamin ng MPD ang tunay na dahilan, bukod sa kalasingan, kung bakit nag-amok at namaril itong si PEMS Reynante Dipasupil ng kanyang mga kabaro,” he said.
“The investigation I ordered on the unfortunate incident at the Manila Police District goes beyond the shooting as this includes other aspects such as possible mental health issues of all our personnel,” he added. – jlo
