PNP: Scalawags exploiting Rody’s support for cops
The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday admitted that scalawags among its ranks are taking advantage of President Duterte’s assurance of protection in their mission of keeping the public safe.
“Yes, there are. These are the rogue cops that we still have in our ranks and we are taking them away,” Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in an interview over ANC.
Initial investigation found that South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was kidnapped and murdered by police officers inside PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City in October 2016.
Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, Jee’s alleged killer; Supt. Rafael Dumlao, Sta. Isabel’s team leader at the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG); and Senior Police Officer 4
Roy Villegas are under investigation for the Jee kidnap-slay case.
Seven policemen in Angeles City, Pampanga were also relieved from their posts for their alleged involvement in the robbery extortion of three South Koreans on holiday in the country last December.
Last July, Duterte assured police personnel that he is fully supporting them in the government’s campaign to eradicate illegal drugs and other crimes.
“Do your duty, and if in the process you kill 1,000 persons because you were doing your duty, I will protect you. And if they try to impeach me, I will hurry the process and we will go out of the service together,” Duterte said in his speech during the assumption of command ceremony of PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa last July.
Carlos lamented some corrupt police officers took advantage of Duterte’s promise to support the PNP.
“Just to clarify, the instruction of the President on day one is do your job right and you will have my backing,” Carlos said. “He did not say you start doing some shenanigans and all these criminal acts and I will support you.”
Napolcom: Disarm rogue cops
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) called on the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) to disarm policemen involved in illegal activities to assure the public that the PNP is taking action against erring policemen.
Napolcom vice chairman Rogelio Casurao said the PNP should take immediate action against rogue policemen to serve as deterrent and warning to other police officers.
“To the IAS, if a policeman is charged, confiscate his police badge, gun and restrict him to quarters so that the public will see that there is action along that line,” he said in Filipino.
Casurao also observed that many policemen involved in illegal activities are rookies, which he said prompted the Napolcom to initiate a review of the recruitment process.
“Why is the frame of mind of our cops bad from the start? We have to find out some faulty step along the way in the entire recruitment process. We are trying to craft the PNP modernization law to address the recruitment process and system in the PNP,” he said.
He also said that raising the salary of policemen would not prevent them from being involved in illegal activities.
“The argument that it is because of their low salaries is hard to accept. Because even if we give them big salaries, if their core values are questionable from the start, no amount of salary increase can make them better policemen,” he added.
‘Rule of law collapsed in Phl’
Phelim Kine, HRW Asia director, said yesterday the rule of law in the Philippines has collapsed following the deaths of thousands of people since Duterte began his drug war last July.
Citing records from the PNP, Kine said over 7,000 suspected drug users and pushers were killed in police operations and by unidentified assassins since July.