PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde ordered on Monday, August 13, the dismissal from service of retired and incumbent police generals and personnel who were involved in the case of 1,004 missing AK-47s.
The AK-47s, which are assault rifles considered the most powerful in the world, allegedly ended up in the hands of New People's Army (NPA) rebels.
Among the active police officials and personnel who were ordered dismissed were:
* Chief Superintendent Regino Catiis of the PNP Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development
* Superintendent Nelson Bautista of Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit
* Superintendent Ricky Sumalde of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
* Chief Inspector Ricardo Zapata Jr. of PNP-Central Luzon
* Senior Superintendent Eduardo Acierto
* Senior Police Officer 1 Randy Madiam De Sesto
* Non-uniformed personnel Sol Bargan
Acierto, De Sesto and Bargan were all assigned in the Civil Security Group.
The above-mentioned officials and personnel were all formerly assigned at the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office.
They were also penalized of forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of eligibility, and disqualification from public office or taking civil service examinations.
On the other hand, the retired police officials who were ordered dismissed were PNP Police Regional Office-Central Luzon Chief and former FEO head Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta and Chief Superintendent Allan Acong Parreno who retired on June 2017 and December 2015, respectively.
They were both penalized to pay a fine amounting to their one year salary on top of other accessory penalty, including the forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of eligibility, and disqualification from public office.
Non-uniformed personnel Nora Belarmino Pirote, who retired on December 2014, was also meted with the same penalty.
The directive stemmed from the dismissal order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman against the said police personnel over charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in relation to the issuance of license to a total of 1,004 AK-47, which went missing but was later on found in the possession of the NPA rebels after clashes with government troops.
Senior Police Officer 1 Eric Tan, who was also included in the dismissal order, was also meted the same penalty as those of Petrasanta and Perreno.
In 2013, then President Benigno Aquino III ordered the PNP to conduct an investigation after a report reached his office that the owners of some 1,004 licensed AK-47 assault rifles are unidentifiable.
Then CIDG chief Director Benjamin Magalong said Isidro Lozada of the Caraga Security Agency admitted facilitating the sale of the AK-47 to the NPA mostly in the Caraga region and Western Mindanao through the Twin Pines, which is a registered guns and gun parts importer.
Magalong said the named former officials of the FEO failed to “exercise due diligence in examining the documents” pertaining to the transactions.
The Ombudsman and the Department of Justice were also tapped to investigate on the matter. (SunStar Philippines)