CORDILLERA police remain drug free.
Police Brigadier General Israel Ephraim Dickson, director of the Police Regional Office Cordillera, reported no police from the region was sacked to due to illegal drugs during the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (RLECC) meeting in Baguio City.
“I am happy to announce that as far as our records are concerned, there are no Police personnel coming from PROCOR that have been part of the 477 dismissed policemen nationwide,” Dickson said.
At least 477 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were kicked out of the service after they alleged involvement with illegal drugs.
Of the 477 members of the PNP, data revealed there are 12 police officers, 455 non-commissioned officers, and 10 non-uniformed personnel were dismissed from the service due to illegal drugs.
At least 106 of them, including “ninja cops” who recycle narcotics seized during police operations, were said to have directly taken part in the drug trade.
A total of 371 were dismissed after testing positive for illegal drugs, a grave offense in the PNP, which has intensified its internal cleansing measures to weed out scalawags.
“We hope that we maintain our title as the most disciplined regional command in the country and we are encouraging everyone specially the commanders to do their share in supervising their personnel,” the general stated.
Dickson said there were some policemen in the region who were dismissed due to absence without leave (AWOL) or neglect of duty among others.
The PRO–COR director also reminded the personnel of the regional police to always instill discipline at all times especially during this Christmas season, and to be visible in all their areas of engagement.
“The presence of our police personnel in areas of gatherings particularly during this season will help a lot in the maintenance of peace. I also direct them to continue the implementation of checkpoints to prevent the entry of illegal firearms and persons which may be used in criminal activities, and for them to be the best example of good behavior at all times,” Dickson added. (Jonathan Llanes)