PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has sacked two Philippine National Police (PNP) senior officers he linked to the illegal drug trade, Malacañang said on Monday, October 9.
Former National Capital Region Police Office chief Joel Pagdilao and former Quezon City Police District director Edgardo Tinio were dismissed from service for serious neglect of duty and serious irregularity in the performance of duty, said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
Abella said Duterte, through Executive Secretary Saldavor Medialdea, signed the dismissal order on October 5.
Duterte gave the directive more than a year after he named both Pagdilao and Tinio as alleged "narco generals."
"In line with the President's promise to render the nation crime and corruption-free, he has dismissed two presidential appointees who are officials of the PNP," Abella said.
On July 5, 2016, Duterte revealed that Pagdilao and Tinio were included in the government's drug list, along with three other police officials.
Three other purported narco-politicians named by Duterte last year were Western Visayas regional director Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, then police general and now Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot, and retired Philippine National Police Deputy Chief for Administration General Marcelo Garbo Jr.
The National Police Commission in August 2016 found probable cause to file administrative cases against Pagdilao and Tinio.
Abella said there was substantial evidence against the two that would prove their negligence because of their supposed connections with the rampant narcotics trade.
"Evidence shows that both generals have deliberately refused without cause to perform their duties as police officers, resulting in the proliferation of drug trade in their areas of jurisdiction, thus the President's decision," the presidential spokesperson said.
Abella said the government is yet to determine whether criminal charges will be filed against Pagdilao and Tinio.
"As far as I know, these are administrative charges only and that they have been let go. We're not yet privy whether there is enough evidence to file criminal charges against them," he said. (SunStar Philippines)