‘Ang Probinsyano’: Good or bad for PNP?

Is the popular TV series, “Ang Probinsyano,” hurting the image of the Philippine National Police?

PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde had complained that the long-running show’s depiction of police corruption was not fair to the force.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, sided with Albayalde, saying he would support calls on the producers of ABS-CBN’s prime-time show not to make the PNP look so bad.

But Sen. Grace Poe, whose father, Fernando Poe Jr., played the title role in the original movie on which the series was based, said the people’s attitude toward the police depended on their real-life experience.

“How the people view the police is based on the actions of the real police they see on the streets, and not on the acting of fictional cops they watch on screen,” she said in a statement.

‘Unfair to PNP’

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Lacson noted that the character playing the PNP chief who conspires with power grabbers does not look and act like a top police official.

“Given how so many people watch it … I think, to say the least, it’s unfair to the PNP to be portrayed liked that because they are not like that,” he added.

Poe argued that the show portrayed other villains who were not police officers in the story, which was about the exploits of SPO2 Ricardo “Cardo” Dalisay, a crusading officer.

According to the senator, the “redeeming value” of the story is that “despite the wrongdoings happening around us, there are cops like Cardo, and his team, who will always fight for what is right and just.”

“We can say, ‘bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan ay ’wag magalit,’” Poe said, using an old Filipino saying that means those who are alluded to in certain situations should not feel offended.