Drive vs rogue cops a priority–NCRPO boss
NATIONAL Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Major General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. assured the public the campaign against rogues in uniform will remain a top priority this year.
He mentioned their strict policy on illegal drug use among their men which is an administrative offense punishable by dismissal.
Nartatez said during the yuletide, four NCRPO personnel tested positive for substance abuse.
Three of the four are from the Eastern Police District while the 4th was from the NCRPO headquarters.
Under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, a person found positive for any dangerous drug, after a confirmatory test, shall be penalized with a minimum of six months rehabilitation in a government center for the first offense.
Nartatez said that the drug-positive policemen are immediately stripped of their service firearms and police identification cards.
The official also said that a total of 177 NCRPO personnel are facing dismissal from the police service after being charged criminally and administratively in connection with their suspected illegal drug activities.
“As part of our efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in the conduct of our operations amid various allegations that have been tagging the police organization in the middle of the government’s intensified anti-illegal drugs campaign, we want to assure our community that the NCRPO is taking all necessary steps to address the involvement of police officers,” said the Metro Manila police chief.
Earlier. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said some 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses, specifically violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“Alam naman natin na kung minsan nadadala ang ating mga opisyal at siyempre hindi natin maaaring pabayaan ‘yan.
Kaya’t ang nangyari ay 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses, including the planting of evidence, unlawful arrest and excessive violence dito pa lang sa NCR,” the Commander-in-Chief said.
The President also said that the Department of Justice pursued 151,818 court cases in 2022 and 2023 leading to the jailing of some 121,582 violators.
He also said that in 2023, law enforcement agencies confiscated around P10,41 billion worth of shabu and other illegal drugs.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency headed by Director General Moro Virgilio M. Lazo and the Philippine National Police under General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. accounted for the bulk of the seized drugs in 2023.
“This is a major step in our ongoing effort to rid the Philippine National Police, particularly the NCRPO, of corrupt and criminal elements.
We guarantee that these police officers are held accountable for their actions, dismissed from the service, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Maj. Gen. Nartatez.
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos Jr. said that last year, 76 policemen were axed from the police force amid the government’s stepped-up internal cleansing drive.
The 76 were found to be guilty of administrative offenses for grave misconduct which is punishable by dismissal from the service.
He added 59 other police officers are subject of summary dismissal in the aftermath of the controversial October 2022 anti-drug operation in Manila which led in the seizure of some P6.8 billion worth of shabu and triggered a major government investigation of accused policemen led by Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo, Jr.
