PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. has ordered an intensified effort to recover PNP-issued firearms to police officers and men who have failed to surrender them after they were dismissed from the force for criminal and administrative offenses, the Journal Group learned yesterday.

The massive firearms’ accounting and recovery program is being spearheaded by the PNP Directorate for Logistics headed by Major Gen. Ronaldo E. Olay and the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group under Brigadier Gen. Warren F. de Leon.

“We have our Oplan: Bawi which is a program to recover our missing firearms. We have a Board of Survey which studies the civil and criminal liability of policemen who have failed to turn over their PNP-issued firearms upon official demand,” said Maj. Gen. Olay.

The move aims to prevent the possibility that PNP-issued firearms may be used by dismissed or suspended policemen in committing other crimes or creating trouble in their neighborhood, and worse, harassing people who have filed criminal or administrative complaints against them.

As of last February 3, Colonel Noel B. Vallo of the PNP-DL Supply Management Division said they have already recovered a total of 9.536 PNP-issued firearms from PNP personnel who have gone on AWOL or Absence Without Official Leave status or were dismissed, retired and separated from the police service.

The official said they have targeted 12,033 firearms issued to police personnel assigned with the 17 Police Regional Offices and another 825 from those assigned in different PNP National Support Units.

Of the 9,536 PNP firearms recovered so far, 8,983 are from policemen assigned in PROs and another 553 from those in NSUs.

Col. Vallo said efforts are still underway to recover another 3,322 PNP-issued firearms, 3,050 of them from the PRO personnel and 272 from those assigned in NSUs.

“We already have a 75 percent recovery accomplishment in the regions and a 67 percent recovery accomplishments in the NSU,” he told the Journal Group.

The following are the recovered PNP-issued firearms from their former end-users: Bangsamoro Administrative Region Police Regional Office-155 out of 312; Cordillera Police Regional Office-377 out of 435; National Capital Region Police Office-1,767 out of 1,952;

Police Regional Office 1- 442 out of 619; PRO2-523 out of 724; PRO3-733 out of 1,281; PRO4-A-555 out of 717; PRO4-B-668 out of 742;

PRO5-359 out of 512; PRO6-608 out of 1,027; PRO7-906 out of 1,119; PRO8-172 out of 329; PRO9-487 out of 532; PRO10-180 out of 377; PRO11-107 out of 216; PRO12-755 out of 854; and PRO13-189 out of 276.

The NCRPO has a 91 percent recovery rate while the PRO10 has the lowest recovery rate to date with 48 percent.

On the other hand, among the NSUs, the Civil Security Group, the Police-Community Affairs Development Group , the Chaplain Service, Training Service and the Finance Service all have a 100 percent recovery rate.

The Journal Group learned that the PNP-DL Board of Survey evaluates the reasons presented by concerned policemen on why they lost their PNP-issued firearms.

“If the Board determines that the PNP-issued weapons were really lost as a result of legitimate anti-criminality operations, the end-users will be exonerated. However, those who lost their guns due to negligence and mistake will have to face administrative cases which may result to their dismissal from the force or demotion in rank,” the PNP Director for Logistics said.

Maj. Gen. Olay said policemen who fail to surrender their weapons after they were dismissed from the PNP for different criminal and administrative offenses will find themselves facing charges for malversation of public property.

“Dismissed policemen who failed to surrender their PNP-issued firearms are being charged in court. Once warrants for their arrest are issued, they will be the subject of a police manhunt and may eventually be arrested in their last known addresses, the places they regularly frequent, even in police checkpoints,” the official said.

As a matter of policy, three demand letters are being sent to the concerned policemen with their compliance being monitored by the PNP-DL and the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management.

Once the demand letters are ignored, charges are filed in court against the subject policemen.

The PNP chief has ordered a thorough investigation of claims of concerned policemen that they lost their PNP-issued firearms due to rescue and anti-criminality operations and calamities and other acts of nature like massive flooding, powerful typhoons and sea disasters.

“The Board investigates policemen who declared they have lost their guns. If their PNP-issued firearms went missing in their homes, the Board will find out if there was negligence on their part,” he said.

There have also been cases in which PNP-issued firearms were recovered from persons with questionable characters, in the hands of criminals, officials said. In such cases, the PNP will investigate if the guns were either deliberately ‘pawned’ by the policemen-users or were merely stolen from them.

However, the PNP also makes some considerations if the weapons were lost during encounters with heavily-armed criminals in the field. This is the same reason why they have their regular ‘showdown’ which is aimed at checking the PNP-issued firearms of their men.

Gen. Azurin made it very clear: any policeman who will be found to have pawned or sold his issued firearm to another individual will be facing criminal and administrative charges for grave misconduct and graft and corruption and will be fired from the police force.

Last week, PNP-IMEG director, Brig. Gen. de Leon warned dismissed police personnel that they will be arrested should they deliberately fail to surrender their government-issued firearms and other properties despite several notices.

“We have been ordered by our PNP chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. to further intensify our efforts to recover PNP-issued firearms to police officers and men who have failed to surrender them after they were dismissed from the force for various criminal and administrative offenses,” the PNP-MEG director told the Journal Group.

On Tuesday last week, he said that dismissed Police Officer 1 Christian Agliam, a resident of Purok 4, Barangay Sta. Maria in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao was tracked down by members of the IMEG Luzon Field Unit and the local police and arrested on orders of the court.

Brig. Gen. de Leon said that Agliam is the subject of a warrant of arrest for malversation of public funds or property and presumption of malversation under the Revised Penal Code issued by Judge Emilio Gonzales III of the Pasig City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 54.

The Pasig City judge recommended a P36,000 bail for the temporary liberty of the ex-cop on Monday.

Brig. Gen. de Leon said the court ordered the arrest of the ex-policeman after he went on AWOL (Absence Without Official Leave) status in 2019 and failed to turn-in his PNP-issued firearm.

The accused opted to remain silent after being apprised of his constitutional rights by the IMEG officers who turned him over to the Alfonso Lista Municipal Police Station for documentation and proper disposition.