MANILA, Philippines - Applicants to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are obliged to pay P300,000 in order to be accepted into the force,  according to a complaint sent to ABS-CBN’s Boto Mo iPatrol Mo (BMPM) campaign through text message.

The message sender is a 52 year-old mother from Tawi-Tawi province whose son filed an application with the PNP-ARMM in Cotabato City last 2008. The woman said that her son and other applicants were asked to pay P300,000 to facilitate the papers for recommendations from the Ampatuans.  

Physical exams
The text message, which was sent to BMPM on December 10, 2009, was directed at ABS-CBN’s broadcast journalist Ted Failon. The mother wrote:

“Sir Ted, sumulat ako sa inyo ni Anthony Taberna noon, kaya lang di ata natuunan ng pansin. Pinaiimbistigahan ko po kasi sa mga pamunuan ang nakakasukang sistema ng pag-apply ng PNP sa ARMM Cotabato. Kung walang koneksiyong opisiyal at di makabigay ng P300,000 ay uuwing luhaan ang mga aplikante kahit qualified. Pero, kapag may rekomendasyon mula kay Ampatuan, Zaldy, kahit hindi makatakbo ng isang dipa, tanggap.”

When abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak called the mobile number to verify the complaint, the woman requested that her name be withheld out of fear of the Ampatuans.

“I am too scared to disclose more information, I even changed my number because they (the Ampatuans) are very scary,” she said. She mentioned that her town is very small and if she would give out more information, it would be obvious who spilled details about the application process.

The woman told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak in a phone interview that her son was confident he would pass the physical examinations because he was fast, strong and agile.

PNP-ARMM officers administering the physical examinations, however, told her son that he will have to pay P300,000 to be accepted.

When her son was unable to pay the required amount, the officers told him that he would, most likely, not be accepted. True enough, when the results came out only a few hours after the interview, his name was not in the list of those who passed.

“He perfected the sets, when the results came out at midnight he saw that his name was not included, instead, names of those who could not even run or jump were accepted,” the mother said, her voice trembling.

Corrupt officials
This writer tried to contact Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas, who acts as spokesperson of the family but calls to his known mobile number returned a recording saying “the number you have dialed is incorrect.”

Andal’s legal counsel Philip Pantojan told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that they have not yet heard of such details and could not speak in behalf of the Maguindanao governor as he is under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the PNP in General Santos City. Pantojan is currently in Davao City.

Speaking for himself, Pantojan said that he monitors news reports and complaints against Amapatuan on a “day to day basis” and this is the first time he encountered such an accusation. “I have not heard of such statement or accusation before,” he said.

“I do not know the details of this complaint, but I will try to follow this up with the governor,” Pantojan said.

She said that their family was buried in debt because they prepared P30,000 for transportation and allowance for her son while he was training for the PNP. She described their experience as “very sad” because they thought that her son would qualify for the PNP-ARMM.

She said that she knows a lot of PNP-ARMM applicants who did not pass because they did not have money to pay, not because they were not qualified.

The amount paid by the applicants go to the “pockets of corrupt officials of the PNP in ARMM,” she said.

A lot of young men from Tawi-Tawi are poor, she said, so even if they are qualified for PNP they would not be able to pass the PNP-ARMM application process.

Accepted at Crame
The patroller told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that her son eventually proved that he could pass muster. After “failing to qualify” to become a PNP-ARMM police, he decided to try his luck once again by applying at the PNP’s headquarters in Camp Crame. There, he was accepted to undergo police training in 2008.

 “He will graduate this coming January or February,” the mother said in a cheerful voice. She said that she sees a bright future for her son in Camp Crame because they “accept applicants based on their qualifications, not because of money or political connections.”

Ampatuan clan members are currently accused of masterminding and carrying out the gruesome murder of around 60 individuals, including women and journalists, on November 23, 2009.

Key members the clan, including patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., have since been arrested and charged of multiple murder. Public attention over the issue also led to exposure of palatial homes owned by the family in various parts of the country. – Maria Althea Teves, abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak, with a report from ABS-CBN’s Boto Mo iPatrol Mo