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Manila: Filipino parents have been urged not resort to using the image of the policeman as "bogeyman" to scare their misbehaving children into submission.
According to Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, the practice of some parents in using policemen and other people of authority as bogeyman has far reaching psycho-social implications that may be detrimental to the child as well as the image of the person in authority being used.
He said it contributes to building a wrong impression of policemen and other people of authority in young minds as they perceive policemen as someone to be "scared off" instead of being "respected."
"Such practice is unfair for policemen," Puno said.
He said Filipino parents should rectify this wrong practice and teach children to see a policeman as someone whom they could trust and ask help from.
To correct this image, the Philippine National Police had come up with a programme called "My Policeman, My Protector" in which police officers will spend time immersing themselves in communities as part of an image building campaign.
"Among other measures, policemen will be visible in school areas and communities only to protect the people from possible crimes," Puno said.
However, Puno encouraged Filipinos to do their part in improving the services of the police by reporting erring law enforcers.
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