NINE police officers have been dismissed by the Police Regional Office (PRO) Central Visayas and will face a case for being absent without official leave (Awol).
Some of them had not reported to work for five days without informing their superiors, which was why Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, PRO 7 director, didn’t hesitate to sack them.
On Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, the Personnel Division of the PRO 7 submitted their termination order, which de Leon signed.
According to de Leon, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been implementing a strict attendance policy, especially since police officers received a huge pay hike.
Despite this, there are still cops who don’t take their jobs seriously, he said.
The law allows the nine sacked police officers to appeal their case.
Just because the PNP is in need of additional personnel doesn’t mean it will tolerate lazy cops, he said.
“You know what? While the PNP is in dire need of personnel, we should not also be lax on those personnel that are committing nonfeasance. They show disinterest in serving the public, so why allow them to stay?” de Leon said in a mix of Tagalog and English.
The Personnel Division will release the names of the sacked police officers as soon as it retrieves their termination order, which is still with the PRO 7 director’s office.
In a phone interview, Major Ma. Theresa Macatangay, deputy chief of the Personnel Division, said that going Awol is a grave offense, which is why police officers who don’t show up for work after three days without informing their superiors are automatically in trouble.
First, they will have to explain to the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division why they weren’t able to report for duty.
If they don’t submit an explanation or if their explanation does not suffice, then the PRO 7 will recommend their dismissal to the regional director. (AYB / PJB )