MANILA - President Aquino on Friday stood by Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima despite a perceived increase in criminal activities involving policemen.
A dozen cops were recently implicated in the EDSA kidnapping and robbery case.
But at today's agenda-setting dialogue, the President said calls for Purisima's resignation from an anti-crime group are without basis.
"Ang tanong ko lang po - ngayon lang ba lumitaw ang mga scalawags na ito o ngayon lang may scalawag? Totoong may scalawag pero sino ba nakahuli sa mga nanghulidap sa EDSA? Mga pulis din po," he said in a speech in Malacanang.
He said that in past administrations, it was enough to identify suspects in crimes without bothering to catch them. This, he said, has changed under Purisima's watch.
He went on to enumerate how many high-profile crimes have been solved under Purisima. These include the arrests of 2 suspects in the murder of race car champ Enzo Pastor and three suspects in the murder of hotel owner Richard King.
Police have also arrested former major general Jovito Palparan as well as the Tiamzon couple who are being linked to the New People's Army.
The President also chided the media for selective reporting, saying that crime stories usually land on the front page of newspapers.
"When the crime is solved, you can usually find a short report on page 20," he said.
The President also called on the public to stop spreading hoax text messages on supposed kidnap cases.
He cited as example the alleged kidnapping of a student of a prestigious school, which later turned out to be a hoax.
SOURCE: ABS-CBN
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