THE evaluation conducted on senior police officials in the bid to cleanse the organization against those involved in the illegal drugs trade will have a “significant impact,” Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said.
In an interview with reporters, Magalong, who is part of the five-man advisory council that conducted the assessment, said they are 95 percent finished.
“Malaki na accomplish namin. Marami rin kaming nalaman...Sabihin ko na lang significant, malaking bagay itong nangyari na ito. Malaking impact ito sa PNP. Positive impact,” he said.
(We have accomplished a lot already. We also learned a lot... To put it simply, this is a significant event that happened. This has a big impact on the PNP. It's a positive impact.)
In January, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. called for full-fledged police colonels and generals to submit their courtesy resignation amid the intensified internal cleansing, especially against those involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Abalos’ move stemmed from the arrest of Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr. during a drug operation in Manila in October 2022, which yielded over a ton of shabu.
He said following the arrest of Mayo, who was dismissed from the police service in March, they found that there is a bigger trouble in the police organization which is among the government agencies primarily involved in addressing the drug menace as some of them were actually involved in the illegal activity.
The other members of the committee were Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., former Defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro, former Court of Appeals justice Melchor Sadang and retired police general Isagani Nerez.
“We are now currently wrapping up. The President is already asking about it and I said it would be finished in two weeks,” said Magalong.
He said part of the documents that would be submitted to the President are the recommendations on policies in order to address the involvement of policemen in illegal drugs. (SunStar Philippines)