COURTESY RESIGNATION. Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. shows his courtesy resignation on Jan. 5, 2023. The move aims to cleanse the ranks of officers in the police organization from possible influence or connivance with drug syndicates. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA – The five-member committee that will vet the courtesy resignations submitted by third-level police officers and look into their possible involvement in illegal drug activities will convene twice a week, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said Monday.
Azurin said the advisory group, of which he is a member, agreed to meet twice a week for the screening process.
“We will be meeting twice a week. Ang next meeting namin will be Wednesday and Thursday, 'yun ang napag-usapan namin para mabilis yung pag-evaluate and assess namin sa mga third level officers natin (We will be meeting twice a week, our next meeting will be Wednesday and Thursday, that's what we discussed so that we can quickly evaluate and assess our third level officers),” Azurin told reporters on the sidelines after the presentation and blessing of newly procured PNP equipment at the PNP Grandstand in Camp Crame.
Other members of the advisory group are former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, retired general and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs Undersecretary Isagani Nerez and retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Melchor Sadang.
A total of 118 officers, all of them holding key positions in the police organization, were the first to be evaluated and assessed during their meeting last week.
“We are finalizing 'yung aming recommendation para i-forward sa Napolcom (National Police Commission) para sa kanilang review and evaluation. 'Yung mga positions nila is from being a commander, from being a team leader and from being staff officers ng mga iba't ibang unit dito sa PNP (We are finalizing our recommendation to be forwarded to Napolcom for their review and evaluation. Their positions are from being a commander, from being a team leader and from being staff officers of different units here in the PNP),” Azurin said.
Based on the agreement, officials whose resignations would be accepted would be forced to retire, regardless of how long they are supposed to still stay in the PNP.
The mandatory retirement age of uniformed personnel of the PNP is 56 and those who were asked to resign include generals and police colonels, some of whom still have at least eight years in the service.
In the next three months, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said the committee would thoroughly vet police officials and submit the names of those whose resignations are accepted to the Napolcom for another round of verification before submitting their recommendation to the president.
The move aims to cleanse the ranks of officers in the police organization from possible influence or connivance with drug syndicates. (PNA)
