THE former head of the disbanded Anti-illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) will again head the Philippine National Police (PNP) anti-narcotics unit as they embark anew in the government’s war on drugs, a police official said Saturday.
PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said Senior Superintendent Albert Ferro the current deputy chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosive Office will replace Chief Superintendent Joseph Adnol who will be assigned as the new director of the Philippine National Police Academy.
Ferro was the head of the PNP’s former anti-narcotics unit, the AIDG when some of its members were involved in the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo inside the police headquarters in Camp Crame Quezon City.
The said incident prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend on February the crackdown against illegal drugs and instead ordered the PNP to intensify their internal cleansing.
As part of the internal cleansing, PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa ordered the dissolution of the AIDG and created the Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) which was headed by Adnol and in which the members underwent strict training and background checking to ensure they are clean.
The PNP after at least a month went to back to conducting anti-illegal drugs operations but was again ordered to stop operating on October due to the involvement of several erring policemen in illegal activities.
Last week, Duterte has allowed the PNP again to join in the war on drugs but they will only serve as a back up to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Dela Rosa said to promote transparency in each operation, they will be providing the anti-illegal drugs officers a body camera.
Adnol said he does not see the need for body cameras saying that God is always watching them and that the public should trust their men; however, he said he don’t think his comment has something to do with his reassignment as it a part of the organizational structure of the PNP in relation to the retirement of other officials.
Ferro is yet to issue statement over his new assignment. (SunStar Philippines)