A HINT OF GLINT

“It is important to emphasize the positive. If your vision of the future is pessimistic, it will be like that, but if it’s positive and grounded, you will create exactly that”.

This best describes my perception now of the country’s only police force, exactly the opposite of how I perceived it before setting my foot on the organization. The Philippine National Police was nothing but a bunch of criminals camouflaged in “respectable” uniforms. Its public image is mud. All its men were crooks, vultures always on their toes for hapless victims, they move around not to protect but to threaten the people – there was really nothing good about them except their posture, so I thought.

Yet, these dogma gradually changed, when I became part of the organization I once considered the worst institution in the country. Although there were a number of flaws, the police force was not actually as bad as it seemed. There were really good men , though there are a few misfits. I am a living witness to some of the transgressions. While some members have their hands full delivering genuine public service, others are preoccupied fulfilling their personal agenda. But well, this is a reality in all organizations, even small circles like the family have their share of this dilemma.

At the end of the day, however, it is not a matter of counting how many mistakes you have made, what really matters is the realization of these mistakes and desire to change. And I am too proud, I have been part of an organization doing all means to reform inside and out, not just its image, its façade.

A few days ago, I was invited to speak at a writing summit sponsored by the PNP for student journalists. It did not come as a surprise for me when they gave negative insights of the police. This is expected, for the simple reason that these are what they were told and what they have read. After the two-day seminar, though, some of their skepticism were erased.

The organizers know that although their negative perceptions cannot be changed overnight, there is a hint of glint. If there was something significant the participants gained from the summit, it was the fact that anyone can be an agent of change. This is even more significant than the lectures of honing their writing skills.

While never apathetic to the ills of society, being writers at a tender age motivated these students to take an active stance. They are aware they will not be able to implement change, but the students know very well they can make a difference.

Behind my awe, I am grateful to these students because I learned so much from them, even more than what they learned from me. I believe, one day, they too will love the PNP, as I do, or maybe even more.