Carlos: Over 5,000 erring cops axed
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief General Dionardo B. Carlos on Monday said that a total of 5,599 police personnel have been dismissed from the force from July 2016 until last March 30 as a result of their “no-nonsense” internal cleansing program.
The number of rogues in uniform who were fired from the service since the start of the Duterte administration is proof enough that a report from the State Department of the United States that the PNP’s campaign against misfits and scalawags has been “ineffective” has no basis at all.
Of the 5,599 dismissed cops, 714 of them are involved in illegal drug-related cases.
“How come that we have more than 5,000 police personnel who have been dismissed from the PNP? How come that there is high morale in the police force,” he asked.
According to the top cop, the big number of rogues in the police service who have been dismissed and the high morale of their personnel means that their disciplinary mechanisms are working.
“Yung gumagawa ng mali, how big is their percentage? Pero pag mali, kinokorek natin agad. Ang sabi ko nga ‘pag nadapa, tulungan nating tumindig, makabangon, maka-recover,” he said.
Gen. Carlos said that the PNP Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) has taken an aggressive stance in handling and investigating police personnel who were meted with administrative charges amid their crackdown against corruption.
Apart from the dismissal from service, several penalties were likewise imposed on police personnel who were charged for less serious offenses.
PNP data from July 2016-March 2022 showed that 1,129 were demoted, 10,490 were suspended, 848 faced forfeiture of salary, 2,475 were reprimanded, 208 were restricted, and 286 others had their privileges withheld.
These numbers of penalized personnel reflect the PNP’s commitment to cleanse its ranks to carry out its mandate of protecting the community, the PNP chief said.
He explained that the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) headed by Brigadier Gen. Oliver Enmodias is working fully with the PNP-IAS in carrying out their internal cleansing program.
IMEG’s functions include the following: receive complaints and information against erring personnel and conduct relevant information-gathering activities, detect and conduct intelligence build-up on the involvement of PNP personnel in illegal activities, acts of graft and corruption, and other crimes for the conduct of prompt countermeasures; and initiate law enforcement operations against rogue PNP personnel.
Moreover, the Department of Justice (DOJ), through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), is currently carrying out its independent investigation on cases of anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths with the PNP giving its full cooperation on the matter.
“With this conscious effort of the PNP, PNP IAS, and PNP IMEG to thwart corruption within the organization, the PNP wishes to oppose the statement from [a] recent report of the United States Department of State’s latest annual country reports on human rights stating that IAS remained largely ineffective,” said PNP Public Information Office Chief Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus B. Alba.
“Although we are not completely disregarding this report, the PNP would like to respond to it with all the significant accomplishments of IAS, as mentioned above. It will be unfair for the PNP to be regarded as an organization that tolerates impunity and human rights abuses,” he said.
“The PNP will always stand for what is right, just, and fair. Although it’s going to be an uphill battle for the PNP, we will be enforcing the law without fear and favor. We will continuously improve our system and organization in order to protect and serve the Filipino community,” Brig. Gen. Alba added.
