40 POLICE OFFICERS TO FACE PROBE OVER UNEXPLAINED WEALTH
Forty police officers now face investigation for allegedly questionable lifestyle. The Regional Internal Affairs Services (RIAS) will look into affairs of six police officers from the Cebu City Police Office. They were formerly from the anti-drug unit and were reassigned to administrative positions for pending cases. “When the Regional Intelligence Division, Regional Intelligence Unit and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed that a certain police officer is involved in illegal activities, charges will automatically be filed against him,” Senior Supt. Jose Carumba, chief of the RIAS, said. They now await the reports of the intelligence units to see if the police officers’ unexplained wealth is related to illegal activities.
The Regional Internal Affairs Services (RIAS) is investigating 40 police officers, who are allegedly living beyond their means.
In the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), six police officers formerly from the office’s anti-drug unit were reassigned to administrative positions for pending cases.
“When the Regional Intelligence Division, Regional Intelligence Unit and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed that a certain police officer is involved in illegal activities, charges will automatically be filed against him,” Senior Supt. Jose Carumba, chief of the RIAS, said.
Carumba said they are waiting for the verification by the intelligence units and the agency to check if the policemen are involved in illegal activities that could have contributed to their unexplained wealth.
Recently, 51 policemen were also investigated for reportedly having lavish lifestyles, 10 of whom face graft and corruption cases and violation of the Code of Ethics of the PNP in the Office of the Ombudsman.
In CCPO, Director Joel Doria said police officers who used to be anti-drugs operatives and are now facing charges for various offenses, like raiding a house without a warrant or committing delays in filing charges, will not be given operational assignments again.
“Those police officers who will be assigned in a drug enforcement unit should be a hundred percent clean in their records, that’s no question,” Doria said.
Meanwhile, the deputy director for operations in the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 will now be Senior Supt. Dennis Agustin, once chief of the directorial staff.
He replaced Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas who was appointed by Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa.
Lawas will now be a member of the Directorate for Investiga- tion and Detective Management and chief of the Crime Research Analysis Center.
His order was effective last March 16, but because he is the ground commander of the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
He will still be here in Cebu from April 4 to April 7.