2 more Filipino cops linked to drugs slain
MANILA: Two more members of the Phillppine National Police (PNP), including a policewoman, linked to illegal drugs were confirmed to have been killed a day after President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte increased to $100,000 the reward for each “scalawag” slain by their fellow law enforcers.
Chief Superintendent Billy Beltran, the provincial police chief, identified the two, as Police Officer 2 Maria Olij ver Olaso and Police Officer 3 Ronald Bernardo, who were both assigned to an anti-drug unit in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.
Beltran said the two were slain in a sting operation set up by agents of the PNP Counter-intelligence Task Force, after their after their involvement in drugs was confirmed in a “barangay” (village) in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur on Saturday afternoon.
“The operation was legitimate. The task force sought our help in pursuing their targets,” Beltran said, referring to the unit formed to hunt down erring members engaged in high profile crimes such as kidnap-for-ransom, murder, drugs and extortion as part of the PNP “internal cleansing” programme.
In particular, the task force was ordered to go after “ninja” cops, meanj ing those involved in recycling illegal drugs like shabu (crystal meth) seized in legitimate police raids for resale back to the streets.
On Friday, President Duterte raised to $100,000 from $40,000 the reward he offered for each ninja cop and scalawag killed by their fellow law enforcers for refusing to heed the call for reforms at the 200,000-memj ber PNP.’ Duterte pointed out not all police officerswere corrupt but lamented the “bad eggs” are pullng down the PNP, the lead agency in his war on illegal drugs amid charges of alleged rampant human rights violations like extra-judicial killings by vigilante groups allegedly with links to the police.
Earlier, Director General Oscar Albayalde, the PNP chief, disclosed they were monitoring at least 1,000 policemen for their reported involvej ment in illegal drugs either as dealers or protectors of drug syndicates.
“That’s an awful deterence for these few bad cops from continuously treadj ing on their crooked paths,” Albayalde said, adding he also implemented a “drastic” move to weed out the scalaj wags and misfit.