Secretary Leila de Lima of the Department of Justice and Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo of the Supreme Court headed this year’s Final Board of the Judges for the Metrobank Foundation Search for the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS). Joining them are key personalities in the various sectors of the society, such as Dr. Jose Ma. Arsenio Mariano, president of the University of Asia and the Pacific; Atty. Eusebio Tan, president of the Management Association of the Philippines; Atty. Jose Tale, chairman of the Couples for Christ; Paul Schafer, resident representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation; and Joel Reyes Zobel, a broadcast journalist from Super Radyo DZBB of GMA Network.

The final judging process, which consisted of documents evaluation and panel interview, allowed the judges not only to probe deeper into the policemen and women’s accomplishments and views on current issues but to interact with the finalists as well.

“Being a part of the Board of Judges, I got to see the perspective, the soft side, the human side of these policemen, and I got the affirmation that rotten eggs are a minority in the whole system,” said Secretary de Lima who dealt with human rights violations during her stint as Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights.

The finalists, who underwent rigorous screening process, consisted of nine non-commissioned officers and eight commissioned officers. A maximum of ten will be named as this year’s COPS awardees.

“More than bestowing honor to deserving policemen and women who have made significant contributions to service, the Search for COPS recognizes that maintaining peace and order is a shared responsibility between the police and the community,” said Aniceto “Chito” Sobrepeña, president of the Metrobank Foundation.

Now on its eighth year, the Search for COPS is an annual program undertaken by the Metrobank Foundation and the Rotary Club of New Manila East, in partnership with PSBank and the Philippine National Police.