Military academy grads told to get prepared to fight crime

President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the graduates of Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “Masidlak” Class of 2017 to remain strong as they begin their law enforcement careers.
In his speech, the president reminded them never to stray from established codes of conduct.
“I hope that you will take to heart the principles of the Philippine National Police Academy that has been imparted to you. In times when your resolve is being tested, always look back what drove you to become part of the police force,” he said.
Ninety-eight members of the graduating class will join the Philippine National Police, 15 will join the Bureau of Fire Protection, and 31 will be part the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
The president called on the graduates to be mentally and physically prepared as they join the government in eradicating crime and corruption.
He also reminded them that losses and triumphs were “inevitable.”
“For the Masidlak Class of 2017, the arduous task of keeping our nation safe is just beginning. Never be discouraged, no matter how formidable the odds may be stacked against you,” Duterte said.
The chief executive assured the Masidlak Class that it has the vigorous backing of his administration. He also maintained that he would defend and protect them, as long as they “fight for the country (and) do it right.”
“Government will take care over your worries. Yours: fight for the country, do it right. You have been lectured on the rules on how to do it. Do it right,” he said. The president also promised to establish a “trust fund” amounting to “billions” of pesos for the families of policemen killed in the line of duty.
Duterte told the graduates that the war on illegal drugs and crime has claimed the lives of some of their comrades, who “died so (we may) have peace and order and stability for our country today.”
“To ensure that their sacrifice will not be in vain… the government will assure our policemen that their families will be taken care of,” the president said, adding that it was also the reason for increasing the combat pay and incentives of policemen. “That is why I will assure you now, I’ll make you the guarantee that I will leave a legislation that will put in trust so many billions… I hope it would be institutionalised and that is my dream. In about three to four years, it will be in place,” he added.
Under Duterte’s proposed fund for slain policemen, the president said the government would shoulder the tuition of the deceased policeman’s children while the spouse will be offered a job in government with the help of Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno.
“When it comes to the children, the Presidential (Management) Staff takes care of the expenses for education. The government will take care of the widows,” he said.
Duterte then told the incoming police, jail, and fire inspectors the inspiration for his plan – his experience as a hostage of the New People’s Army (NPA), whose members held him at gunpoint. The president said he was nabbed by the NPA and tried in their “kangaroo court” because it could not accept that he, back then a prosecutor, “was doing the prosecution work against their comrades.”
“I could feel the cold steel (on my temples). The first thing that came to my mind was my child, who was still inside my wife’s womb, Sebastian,” Duterte said, referring to his youngest son with his ex-wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman.
The highest-ranking cadet of PNPA’s Masidlak Class, Cadet Macdum Enca, drew inspiration from Duterte, who like the president, did not expect that he would be tapped for a leadership role.
“Amid the hardships and challenges that I faced, it was President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that served as my inspiration,” Enca said in his valedictory
address.