MANILA – Four police officers in Metro Manila have tested positive for illegal drugs in a series of drug tests after the holiday season, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Friday.
NCRPO spokesperson Lt. Col. Eunice Salas, in a message to the Philippine News Agency, said one out of 175 police officers from the NCRPO regional headquarters yielded a positive result during a random test on Jan. 4.
Meanwhile, three out of 405 personnel from the Eastern Police District (EPD) also tested positive after a random test on Jan. 2.
All four police officers yielded positive results in confirmatory tests.
Salas said the three EPD cops were reassigned to the District Administrative Holding and Accounting Section while the other police officer was reassigned to the NCRPO's Administrative and Resource Management Division - Personnel Holding and Accounting Section (PHAS) in NCRPO.
"(They have) 15 days to challenge it. Pa drug test ulit nila yung same specimen sa (Their same specimen can be tested at DOH Accredited Drug Testing Centers. Then they will be subjected to pre-charge investigation and the summary hearing proceedings penalty is dismissal from the police service,” Salas added.
Meanwhile, NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said random drug tests would continue as part of internal cleansing efforts of the police force.
“Nag break sila ng Christmas and New Year and we have them checked and we netted four positives for the usage of illegal drugs (during drug test). Kinuha na natin yung mga baril nila baka mamaya sabog sila sa droga (They took a break for Christmas and New Year and we checked them and we netted four positives for the usage of illegal drugs (during drug test). We have taken their guns because they still might be high on drugs),” Nartatez told reporters in an interview at NCRPO headquarters Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Friday.
Since Nartatez took over as NCRPO chief in July 2023, some 300 erring cops have been dismissed from the service.
He also noted that they are reviewing the status of other administrative cases against police officers.
“We are fixing the procedure here. When I came here, some case folders were lost. Some cases have been resolved but the decision is not implemented. There are cases which are reversed or dismissed simply because of lapses in the procedure," he added. (PNA)
