(File photo)
MANILA – A total of 279 erring police officers have been dismissed from the service since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assumed office, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
Citing latest data, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the figure is among the 1,211 PNP personnel meted with various sanctions from July 1 to Dec. 7, 2022.
The number also includes 79 who were demoted, 427 suspended and 381 personnel who were sanctioned with various penalties such as forfeiture of salary, reprimand, restriction, and withholding of privileges.
“The PNP will never tolerate any irregularity and breach of discipline in the police service. We will always be steadfast in our thrust to discipline our personnel while we value each and everyone’s welfare while serving the Filipino people,” Azurin said.
The PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has taken an aggressive stance in handling and investigating police personnel who were slapped with administrative charges.
Working hand in hand with the IAS is the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, whose functions include receiving complaints and information against erring personnel and conducting relevant information-gathering activities, detecting and conducting intelligence buildup on the involvement of PNP personnel in illegal activities, acts of graft and corruption, and other crimes for the conduct of prompt countermeasures, and initiating law enforcement operations against rogue cops.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) has recorded a decrease in administrative cases involving its personnel accused of committing various wrongdoings.
PRO 7 director Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba said from 99 cases in 2021, the figure went down to 85 cases this year while the solution rate of the PRO 7 in resolving administrative cases remains high as 72 of them were already resolved.
Based on the PRO 7 data, grave misconduct ranked as the highest nature of the offense committed by police officers, followed by grave neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.
While some administrative charges against policemen are legitimate, the PNP noted that some of them were also found to be intended for harassment, many of whom are police officers involved in operations on the ground.
"We will make sure that all police officers in Central Visayas possess transparency, accountability, and integrity in all their operations. Necessary mechanisms are set into place so that rogue cops are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law because delinquents have no place in the police service,” Alba said.
Alba attributed the decrease to the intervention measures based on the strategic policies issued by the PNP leadership.
He said the reduction was also noted in the policemen involved in illegal drug activities.
Alba earlier issued a directive to all police commanders in Central Visayas that an entire unit would be relieved if one of its members is caught recycling illegal drugs and other drug-related offenses.
“In line with the goal of the PNP to improve its credibility, we vowed to step up our efforts to cleanse the ranks in the organization and raise the level of discipline, competence, and professionalism," said Alba. (PNA)
