22 more cops caught dozing on duty

Two policemen were relieved and 20 others are under investigation for allegedly sleeping on the job and other lapses, an official said yesterday.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Oscar Albayalde said he relieved Police Officers 2 Roland Tiburcio and Atoz Robinson Monroyo of the Anonas police station’s precinct 1 in Quezon City after he caught them sleeping on the job during a surprise inspection at dawn yesterday.

The NCRPO’s oversight committee will also investigate eight members of the Special Reaction Unit and 12 others from the Caloocan City police, he said..

Albayalde directed the NCRPO’s regional investigation and detective management division to fasttrack the investigation and institute immediate disciplinary sanctions.

Police officers facing administrative charges forfeit their midyear and yearend bonuses and replacement clothing allowance, he said, adding that such charges are grounds for not being promoted.

The sanctions against the 22 police officers followed the removal and investigation of 18 policemen Albayalde caught either sleeping or drinking while on duty.

Paid to be alert

Albayalde said being alert while on duty is part of the police’s operational readiness since night is when criminals operate.

“We are paid to provide security. With the full support from the government, we have no reason not to perform our duty well,” he said.

Albayalde said not all police officers he visited were sleeping on duty.

Police officers of Marikina City were able to respond to a simulation exercise Albayalde set up when he called for police assistance during a “robbery” at a gas station.

DILG orders raps filed

Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered the filing of charges against 18 police officers who were caught sleeping and drinking while on duty.

DILG officer-in-charge Undersecretary Eduardo Año yesterday instructed the National Police Commission and the Philippine National Police to “act with dispatch” and file dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming of a police officer and other applicable administrative charges.

“What they did is a disgrace to the entire police force,” Año said in a statement.

Año also ordered all police commanders to conduct surprise inspections similar to what Albayalde did in his area.