A TOTAL of 798 police officers in Eastern Visayas are facing administrative cases since 2016 up until the first semester of 2019, following the internal cleansing program of the Police Regional Office (PRO).
"In our quest for genuine cleansing and transformation, we will go through challenges. Thus, the more that we will strictly be implementing internal cleansing among our ranks," Police Regional Director Dionardo Carlos said.
Carlos said that 494 administrative cases were filed against police personnel, 353 of these were filed before the Office of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division, while the other 141 cases were filed before the Regional Internal Affairs Service-Eastern Visayas.
He said the "strict implementation" of the program has led to the dismissal from service of 99 police personnel, while 172 were suspended, 373 exonerated, 12 demoted, and four reprimanded for various offenses.
The other cases, however, remain pending for resolution.
The top recorded cases filed against these errant police officers are Absence Without Official Leave (Awol), violations against revised penal code, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, loss of issued firearm, solicitation of political patronage, violations of police operational procedure, failure to prepare and submit report, and willful violation of office regulations, PRO-Eastern Visayas said in a statement.
The internal reforms of the Philippine National Police is one of the thrusts under the leadership of Director General Oscar David Albayalde. (SunStar Philippines)