SIX police personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Training Service (TS) have been removed from their posts over alleged involvement in a barracks rental kickback scheme.
In a press conference on Monday, April 20, 2026, PNP-TS Director Police Brigadier General Rolindo Suguilon said the six were placed under administrative relief following a viral social media post on April 19 detailing the alleged irregularities.
The post claimed that a kickback scheme was being implemented in Regional Special Training Units during the immersion phase of the six-month Field Training Program (FTP) for police trainees.
According to the allegations, some police personnel were either inflating rental rates or collecting a monthly fee of P500 from trainees for accommodation.
Suguilon said an investigation is ongoing to verify the claims and determine accountability.
Under existing policy, he explained, police trainees undergoing on-the-job training are endorsed to local chiefs of police, who serve as field training coordinators and are responsible for assisting in their billeting arrangements.
“Base sa policy natin, ‘yung billeting kasi ng mga FTP na mag-undergo ng OJT, iti-turnover natin ‘yan sa mga chief of police designated as field training coordinator. Ngayon, ang COP is based on the policy, magpo-provide siya ng billeting, and for boarding houses, tutulungan nila ‘yung estudyante na naghahanap ng boarding houses kasi ang nangyayari, sa isang police station, maraming estudyante ang papasok, and for sure, ang police station is hindi kaya mag-accommodate,” Suguilon said.
(Based on our policy, the billeting of FTP trainees who will undergo OJT is turned over to the chiefs of police designated as field training coordinators. Now, under the policy, the COP will provide billeting, and for boarding houses, they will assist students in finding accommodations. This is because, in practice, many trainees are assigned to a single police station, and the station cannot accommodate all of them.)
He noted that multiple trainees are often assigned to a single police station, making it necessary to arrange external lodging.
While the allegations have yet to be confirmed, Suguilon said the PNP is looking into all available information to ensure accountability and uphold the integrity of the police force. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)