Article Type: Research Article Article Citation: Deri Ritzelda A., Gilbas Sherill A., and
Dio Ryan V.. (2020). REMOVAL
OF LOW CONCENTRATION OF KEROSENE FROM WATER USING NIPA PALM (NYPA FRUITICANS
WURMB) FRUIT FIBRE. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(12), 270-278.
https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i12.2020.2784 Received Date: 15 November 2020
Accepted Date: 31 December 2020
Keywords: Community Survey PNP Performance Trust Rating Respect Rating Safety and
Security Albay Province This paper highlights the trust, respect, safety and security ratings of the community to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Province of Albay. It presents the sectoral ratings to PNP programs. The survey utilized a structured interview with 200 sample respondents from Albay coming from different sectors. Male respondents outnumbered female respondents. The majority of the respondents are 41-50 years old, at least high school graduates and are married. The respondents gave the highest net rating on respect, followed by net rating on trust and the lowest net rating on safety and security on the performance of the PNP. Moreover, a high net rating on commitment of support to the identified programs of the PNP was also attained from the respondents. The highest net rating of support is given to the PNP’s anti-illegal drugs program, followed by anti-terrorism, anti-riding in tandem and anti-illegal gambling programs. The ratings of the PNP obtained from the different sectors of the community may be explained by the respondents’ nature of work or professions. Moreover, recommendations given by most of the respondents are focused on safety and security. The negative comments from the respondents may be considered to improve the PNP as an organization.
1. INTRODUCTIONRepublic
Act No. 8551 states that the Philippine National Police (PNP) shall be a
community and service-oriented agency responsible for the maintenance of peace
and order and public safety. It shall be so organized to ensure accountability
and uprightness in police exercise of discretion as well as to achieve
efficiency and effectiveness of its members and units in the performance of
their functions. One of its four perspectives that are aligned to its mandates
and functions as a safekeeping agency is working in partnership with a
responsive community at the national, regional and
local levels. These communities must be engaged so that a working partnership
can be forged in attaining a "safer" environment. The
Philippine National Police’s (PNP) office in Bicol region has its online survey
on performance evaluation as part of the PNP Patrol Plan 2030. [1] It was used in the region to facilitate the
conduct of a community engagement survey
to measure public understanding and perception of the performance of the
PNP in Bicol. However, the observation of the PNP audit team that the police in
uniform acted as enumerators and that their respondents are contained only to
those who visited the Provincial Police Office (PPO) to air their complaints
created a doubtful result. To come up
with a credible survey result on community approval rating on the performance
of the PNP in the Bicol region that will be acceptable to its stakeholders, the
PNP regional office forges an agreement with Sorsogon State College (SSC), an
academic institution and a neutral body to conduct the community survey along
the PNP’s delivery of programs and services. It determined the ratings of the
community along areas of trust, respect, safety and
security. It also determined the community’s rating on the commitment to
support the PNP on the implementation of its programs and services along
anti-illegal drugs, anti-terrorism, anti-riding in tandem, and anti-illegal
gambling. The
regional survey gained an over-all average net rating of 82.62% from Bicolanos in the PNP Bicol’s delivery of their programs and
services. This result is way higher from the +55 net
rating of Filipinos to the PNP in 2014. [2] However, it may not draw out enough
understanding of the provincial perspective, specific to Albay. Hence to give a
different insight on how the province may strategize and behave in accordance
with the norms and culture of its constituents, this study magnifies and analyzes the result
obtained in the province of Albay. Albay is
one of the provinces in the Bicol region, the residents of which are called Albayanos. It has a total land area of 2,554.06 square
kilometers, comprising 3 cities and 15 towns. Albay offers interesting places
for foreign and local tourists alike. Albay’s major industry is agriculture and
its accessibility is available via air, water and
land. Albay hosts several public regional offices including those of the
national police forces. The PNP
Albay fosters the same challenge of enforcing the law, preventing
and controlling crimes, maintaining peace and order, and ensuring public safety
with the other provinces. This paper intends to highlight the trust, respect, safety and security ratings of the community to the PNP in
the Province of Albay. It also aims to highlight the sectoral commitment of
support to PNP programs and feedbacks to the PNP. Specifically, it focused on
the following objectives: 1.) Determine the demographic profile of the
respondents according to a. gender, b. civil status, c. age, and d. educational
attainment, 2.) Determine the ratings of the Albayanos
and their significant comments on a. Trust, b. Respect, c. Safety and Security,
d. Commitment of Support to the PNP 3.) Determine the sectoral ratings on the
identified variables. 2. METHODOLOGYThis
study utilized a descriptive type of research method. The survey was conducted to gather the
ratings and feedbacks on the PNP performance along trust, respect, and safety
and security from the different sectors in the province of Albay. The
enumerators in the conduct of the survey utilized a structured interview with
the identified sectors. A total of 200 sample respondents from Albay were
involved in the survey, which is based on a sample of 1,178 in the regional
survey. The topographical quadrant in figure 1 was the basis for the random
selection of the four municipalities namely Daraga, Libon,
Bacacay and Tabaco City as the area of analysis. Each
municipality was allotted 50 respondents incorporating the 13 sectors; five parents, five youth, three business sector,
five agricultural, five transportation, three religious, four private
employees, four government employee, four elected government officials, one
judiciary, one media, five informal workers, and five from the academe. These
sectors were purposively selected in coordination with the Local Government
Unit (LGU) but the respondents per sector were selected randomly. A three-part
survey-questionnaire was the main instrument used in the study. The first part
of the questionnaire pertains to the demographic profile of the respondents.
The second part is about the community ratings along trust, respect, safety and security on PNP. The third part of the
questionnaire focuses on the commitment of support to the PNP against illegal
drugs, terrorism, riding in tandem, and illegal gambling. The questionnaire
also includes open-ended questions that capture the comments and suggestions
regarding the implementation of the PNP programs, projects, and
activities. The conduct of the dry run
was made in Legaspi City and Malilipot, Albay. Figure 1: Topographical Quadrant for Albay Frequency
count, mean and percentages are the descriptive statistical tools used in
describing the demographic profile of the respondents and the community ratings
along trust, respect, safety and security. The
frequencies and percentages results were also used to identify the net ratings
given by the community to the PNP. Net rating is determined by subtracting the
“unfavorable” responses from the “favorable” responses. The Interpretation and analysis of the result
of the open ended-questions were based on the thematic
coding approach used in the qualitative type of research. 3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS3.1. THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS The respondents were from the
municipalities of Daraga, Libon, Bacacay
and Tabaco City. Daraga is an inland and
a first-class municipality while Bacacay is an islet
and a second-class municipality. Tabaco is a fourth class
city while Libon is partly coastal and partly
agricultural but is a first-class municipality. All of
the respondents went to schooling, however, 57% of them are not college
graduate. Table 1
shows that the Majority or 56.50% of the respondents are male while 43.50% are
female. The majority or 23.50% of the respondents are from 41-50 years old
while the lowest percentage is from the age range of 20 years old and
below. Table 1: Sex and
Age
It also
reveals that there are more male respondents with ages 21years old to 50 years
old as well as with ages 60 years old and above. Females outnumbered males only
in the 20 years old and below age range. This result is consistent with the sex
ratio of 1010 males for every 1000 females in the 2017 demographics of the
Philippines indicating that males are greater in number than their female
counterparts. [3] It can also be noted that the number of male
respondents significantly increases from the youngest age to 50 years old but
drastically drop down from ages 51 years old and up. In contrary to this age
trend, the number of females slowly decreased when they reached the same age
ranges. PSA provided data showing that the sex ratio declines at the age of 55
for all the census years 2000-2010 and noted that there had been a lesser
number of males than females. [4] Table 2: Age and
Civil Status
Legend: S-Single, M-Married, SE- Separated,
W-Widow(er) Most of
the single respondents are below 31 years old while most of the married
respondents are more than 30 years old. Most widow(er) belonged to the age
group 51 years old and above. The result connotes that Albayanos
marry later in age as compared with the average marrying age in the
Philippines. The average marrying age for the last 10 years is from 20 to 29
years old. The female marries at the age of 20-24 years old while its male
counterpart marries at the age of 25-29 years old. [5] 3.2. THE NET RATINGS ON TRUST, RESPECT, SAFETY AND SECURITY AND COMMITMENT OF SUPPORT TO THE PNPLaw
enforcement executives are constantly striving to preserve a positive, ethical
image of their departments to the public they are sworn to serve and protect.
However, several reasons may influence the perception of the community of its
local police. Table 4 reflects the perception of the community on trust,
respect, safety and security to the PNP. Table 3
revealed that Albayanos gave the highest net rating
of 92.50% on respect, followed by a net rating of 81% on trust and the lowest
net rating of 73% on safety and security. Table 3: Net
Rating of the Respondents on Trust, Respect, Safety and Security
Respect: Respect ratings centered on the community's
respect to PNP and PNP respect to the community. The majority or 93.5% of the
respondents in Albay showed favorable respect rating to the PNP with only 1%
unfavorable. These findings may be supported by the qualitative treatment of
responses from the respondents. The positive comments came from respondents in Bacacay and Libon areas. They
stated that “The policemen in our town are kind and courteous”; “ Police works nicely”; and some are
good police officers. On the other hand, the negative comments came from the
four covered areas but the most hailed
from the area of Daraga. The
respondents’ most common complaints include “Lack of respect to those who
committed mistakes”; “Slow in
response to some remote places”; and “Some
policemen only stand and sit without doing anything”. The values and character of a person command respect in his
social environment. Police officers who manifested such characteristics may get
positive approval from their community.
The harmonious relationship with others while performing the jobs when
on duty or off duty may add up to respect from the community. Police officers are public servants and are
expected to adhere to higher professional and ethical standards than most
public servants do. In fact, the public scrutinizes police officers more than
most other professions, either because they are cynical or hope to catch them
screwing up, unskillful in their jobs, procrastinating, violating laws or because
they are hopeful and are looking for a good example and a strong leader.
Accordingly, a single uncouth act committed by a single unprofessional police
officer can impact the entire law enforcement profession. [6] The public makes no distinction between
police officers; all of them look and act the same in the eyes of the average
citizen. Trust: Moreover, trust ratings focus on the PNP’s
initiatives in improving programs against criminality and the community’s
confidence towards the PNP. The majority or 84% of the respondents in Albay
showed a favorable trust rating to the PNP with 3% unfavorable. These findings maybe supported by the qualitative treatment of responses
from the respondents. The respondents gave positive feedback on trust, giving
majority comments like, “good and excellent job “to the police. One of the
respondents commented, “So far, in our locality, I can see that our policemen
are really doing their job accordingly”. Others have stated, “Policemen in our place are kind and
ready to help”. On the other hand,
negative feedbacks focused on some policemen who are allegedly involved on
drugs and bribery. They include: “Remote
places are not frequently visited”; “Some
policemen asked for bribe or inducement”; and “Some policemen are involved in illegal drugs and extrajudicial
killings” among others. Police officers can build trust among their
community through transparency. The community must be able to witness that
police policies and procedures were used and implemented correctly. Any police
unit that followed the established procedures and holds their officers accountable
when the procedures are not followed can assure a higher approval rating on
trust to the PNP. Thus, police officers are afforded awesome authority to carry
out their duties. However, any excessive use of that authority, abuse of power,
or failure to fulfill their duties can erode public trust and reduce or destroy
their credibility within the communities they serve. Every member of a police
department must understand that he represents the entire agency, that personal
conduct is his own responsibility, and that he will be held accountable for all
his conduct, whether positive or negative. [7] Moreover, to build trust and legitimacy
police may engage in non-enforcement activities to show they are the guardian
of the people and not a warring faction with the people.[8] Safety and Security: The lowest net rating is on
safety and security that includes the respondents feeling of safety and a
better level of security in the area. It covers also
the active campaign of the PNP against illegal drugs. Most or 79% of the
respondents in Albay showed favorable Safe and Security ratings to the PNP with
a 6 % unfavorable rating. These findings may be supported by the qualitative
treatment of responses from the respondents. The respondents gave positive
comments such as; “I
am happy that many of our policemen still do their duties”; “I and my family feel
secured to walk in the streets even at
night because there are several policemen who roam around the area” ; and “There is high security in our
place”. On the other hand, evident in
the comments of the respondents from Daraga area and Tabaco City are the
following complaints of the respondents: “They
cannot fulfill their obligations”; “They
do not roam around the vicinity”; “Traffic problems are not addressed”;
and “Not very alert and delayed in
making responses to crime scenes”. Responsiveness of the policemen to the needs
of the community is the cornerstone of peace, safety
and security. The visibility of police officers in action in ensuring peace and
order may etch in the minds of the community where they swore to defend and
protect. Sometimes, police judgments on how to do things may compromise their
actions. Thus, they need to have good judgment, careful and well-aligned strategies and procedures to avoid miscommunication and
public distrust. Media may also play a role in delivering information about
peace and order, safety and security to the community.
When stories of unfortunate incidents between community and law enforcement are
what the media magnifies, it can paint a negative and unfair picture of law
enforcement leading to biased and low approval ratings from the public. It is
noteworthy that the performance of the policemen in the locality should lead to
a condition where there is less victimization, less fear of crime, lower
perceived level of violent crime, lower perceived disorder in one’s
neighborhood, higher neighborhood cohesion and control. The media should not be
a source of the negative opinion. Moreover, the community should not rely on
the media for their opinions and responds and reacts primarily based on their
own experiences and expectations of their local police. Furthermore, there is a higher percentage
or 15% of undecided rating on safety and security, followed by 13% undecided
rating on trust. Respect had the lowest or 5.5% undecided rating from Albayanos. These findings may be attributed to the
respondents’ fear of expression on issues they believed to be of high risks.
However, it may be construed that these undecided ratings may be equated with
unfavorable ratings. The respondents’ undecided responses may also be
attributed to the sector it belonged to, relationships with the police and its
environment. The confidentiality treatment of the survey may not be enough to
solicit the respondents’ full trust and honest responses. Moreover, uninformed
respondents generally choose the neutral option more often than the informed
respondents. [9] Table 4: Net
Rating on Commitment of Support to the PNP
The commitment of Support to the PNP: Table 4 reflects a 95.38% net
rating of the Albayanos on the commitment of support
to the identified programs of the PNP. These programs are anti-illegal drugs,
anti-terrorism, anti-riding in tandem and anti-illegal gambling. It can be
noted that the highest net rating of support
(97%) is given to PNP’s anti-illegal drugs program. Next to it is the
anti-terrorism program with a 96.5% net rating, followed by anti-riding in
tandem with a 95.5% net rating. The last is on an anti-illegal gambling program
with a 92.5% net rating. These results are consistent with President Duterte’s
priorities on war against drugs and terrorism. The Philippines was placed in
the international headlines on the issues of human rights violations due to the
rampant killings of persons allegedly involved in drugs. Media men had aired several
incidents of drug-related apprehensions and killings. This happening may be the
result of the community’s participation in the campaign against the
administration’s war against drugs. On the other hand, the declaration of
martial law in the Mindanao area to topple the terrorist groups as well as the
cancellation of peace talks with the New Peoples Army
(NPA) may have contributed to this result of the commitment of support of the Albayanos to the anti-terrorism program of the PNP. In the
survey, commitment to support the program against illegal drugs is higher in
Daraga and Libon but lower in Bacacay
and Tabaco. On the other hand, the program against terrorism is highest in Bacacay and Tabaco but lower in Daraga. They did not
consider mentioning any statement of commitment towards the PNP in the
open-ended question. As such, it can be
considered that the comments given are on a one-sided basis as they complain
yet do not sincerely compromise their part. Furthermore, the program against
riding in tandem earned the highest commitment of support ratings from Bacacay and Tabaco but lowest in Libon.
Moreover, the highest ratings of the commitment of support on program against
illegal gambling were obtained from Bacacay while the
lowest is from Libon and Tabaco. Existing problems
and issues in the locality that impact so much on everyday existence must be
treated and extracted immediately. Locations with the highest rate of
disturbances may have given their highest commitment of support to the police
officers to suppress the continuity and growth of such issues of disturbances, crimes and violations within their vicinity. 3.3. THE NET RATINGS PER SECTOR ON TRUST, RESPECT, SAFETY AND SECURITY, COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT PNP PROGRAM It is
interesting to note the net ratings of each sector regarding trust, respect,
safety and security and the commitment of support to the PNP. Trust: Table 5 shows the highest trust
net ratings of 100% come from government elected officials and media. The
lowest net rating of 50% is from the judiciary. The trust ratings given to PNP
by the different sectors of the community seemed to focus on the nature of
their respective work or professions. The 100% trust net rating is given by the
elected government officials to the police may be attributed to the nature of
how they got elected through a majority of even one (1) vote only. Not all
voters appreciate or accept the system. Hence, officials need the PNP to secure
them from any untoward incident that may be brought about by the system, especially
while on the discharge of their elected duties. In fact, these officials may
even request security services from either army or police. The media
practitioners, likewise, need to trust highly the PNP. They need to gather data
from the police, process these data and truthfully report the same to the
citizenry through the various reporting medium. To get the truth, not the fake
ones and to secure their own persons while gathering news, they have to highly trust the police. The judiciary on the other
hand, maybe a little reluctant in their response to the survey, lest they may be seen as partial to the police. Again, it is the nature of
their work that counts in order to dispense impartial
judgment for all. Finally, employees in the private sector seemed to feel safer
in their indecision rather than taking sides with regards to trusting the PNP. Table 5: Net
Ratings Per Sector on Trust, Respect, Safety and Security and Commitment to
Support the PNP’s Program
Respect:
Table 5 also
presents that the highest respect net ratings of 100% come from elected
government officials, informal workers, judiciary, media
and religious sectors. The lowest net rating of 60% is from the agricultural
sector. These ratings suggest that respect for the police is somehow associated
with the area-types where the respondents are based. It is likewise observed
and confirmed that the more urbanized an area-type has become, the more
populous with more varied concerns it will be. Consequently, an increased need
for security and protection against the incidence of criminality and
lawlessness is in order. The
urban area is the usual domicile for the 5 sectors of respondents who had
awarded the PNP with a perfect 100% respect - rating. This action may be their
way to show gratitude and appreciation for the services rendered by the police
to protect and secure them from lawless elements especially that a good number
of these residents had fallen victims or witnesses to crimes perpetrated by
said elements. The rural areas, on the other hand, are the usual home to the
agricultural sector respondents. Considered as areas of peace and quiet where
Filipino culture like bayanihan, camaraderie and
others, are still in existence, the presence of the police is limited and
scarce, if not nil. Incidents of criminality committed by some elements wherein
some still posing as police have remained unsolved for sometime. This may be the reason behind the low
respect rating given to the PNP by the sector. Safety
and Security:
Table 5 also reflects that the highest safety and security net ratings of 100%
come from the elected government officials and media. The lowest net rating of
37.50% is from the Private employee sector. Moreover, only two 2 sectors of the
respondents had accorded the PNP with a 100% net rating for safety and
security. This perfect rating or higher need for security and safety of the
elected government officials and media practitioners may be explained by their
placement in the community’s social structure as well as the nature of their
work. On the other hand, the sector of the private employees, feeling insecure,
unsafe and powerless for their being private and
ordinary citizens of the community who oftentimes had fallen victims to crimes
and other unlawful activities of lawless elements had allotted the lowest net
rating for safety and security. This indicates that the support acquired from
the community depends on the quality of personal experience with the police. [9] Commitment to Support PNP Programs along
Anti-illegal drugs, Anti-terrorism, Anti-riding in tandem and Anti-illegal
gambling: Table 5
also reveals the highest net rating (100%) of support to PNP’s anti-illegal
drugs program comes from elected government officials, government employees,
informal workers, judiciary, media, private employees, religious,
transportation and youth sectors. The lowest net rating (90%) comes from the
agricultural and parent sectors. The highest net rating (100%) of support to
PNP’s anti-terrorism program comes from academe, agricultural, elected
government officials, government employee, judiciary, media, parents,
religious, and transportation sectors. The lowest net rating (85%) comes from
informal workers. The highest net rating (100%) of support to PNP’s anti-riding
in the tandem program comes from agricultural, business, elected government
officials, government employee, judiciary, media, parents, private employees,
religious, and youth sectors. The lowest net rating (80%) comes from informal
and transportation workers. The highest net rating (100%) of support to PNP
anti-illegal gambling program comes from business, elected government
officials, government employees, judiciary, media, parents, private employees and religious sectors. The lowest net rating (70%)
comes from transportation workers. 3.4. RECOMMENDATION OF THE RESPONDENTS RELATED TO PNP PROGRAM AND SERVICES There are
various recommendations that the respondents have given. They can be
categorized on trust, respect, safety and security.
Most of the recommendations given are focused on safety and security. The
following are recommended several times by the respondents. The top
recommendations include: Police visibility to public places and 24/7 police
patrol; “There should be checkpoint
at least once a week to ensure safety in the community”; “Curfew must be implemented in the barangay even if it has distance
from the town proper”; and “Policemen
should have fair treatment to everyone”. Some respondents also recommended to
continue and maintain the good program/service of the PNP. Moreover, others
suggested that some policemen need continuous training, particularly the Junior
policemen. They also added that there can be monthly consultation so that the
police will be informed of the need of the community. On the category of
Respect, some respondents suggested that some policemen should avoid drinking
and gambling. The proposition that the policemen should attend training is also
reiterated by some respondents in this statement: “Training and schooling for better management”. In the
nutshell, it can be stated that the respondents commit themselves to cooperate
with the PNP. It can be deemed from their suggestions that they are willing to
submit to the programs like curfew, traffic and even consultation, which means
discussions of things for more peaceful, friendly and nice-to live with the
community. 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSIn the
light of these findings, the Albay PNP was assessed by the Albayanos
to have high approval ratings in the performance of their duties. They earned
high approval ratings on trust, respect, safety and
security. Community’s commitment to support to their programs has achieved high
ratings too. Although there are positive comments that strengthen the
community’s confidence in the PNP, the negative comments are more important to
note so as to improve the PNP as an organization and
its delivery of services to the optimum level. The level of trust that the Albayanos had for the PNP should be maintained and enhanced
so as to warrant a higher level of respect from among
them. Getting feedback and recommendations from the community may also help in
building trust and confidence that will be translated into strong public
support. Any endeavor of peace, order, safety, and harmony can be easily
achieved in partnerships, collaboration, and cooperation that are built on
trust and respect. SOURCES OF FUNDINGThis research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe author have declared that no competing interests exist. ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe authors acknowledge the
PNP ROV for funding the conduct of the survey. REFERENCES
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Mateo,
J. (2017) “Poll shows record-high trust
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[6]
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[8]
National
Institute of Justice (2003). Building Trust To Law Enforcement Though
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