Azurin to lead review committee for cops’ courtesy resignations
MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. will lead the five-man committee tasked to review the courtesy resignations of top-ranking police, a move meant to cleanse the organization of alleged ties to the narcotics trade, the Interior Department said yesterday.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. rejected the courtesy resignation that Azurin submitted in early January, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said.
He said Azurin and other members will make up the committee that would review PNP courtesy resignations: Baguio City Mayor and former Police General Benjamin Magalong, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, retired police officer General Isagani Nerez, and a member who requested not to be named.
Abalos earlier called on all police colonels and generals to offer courtesy resignations after a probe found that a handful of them were involved in the illegal drug trade.
He said they could continue working while their records were assessed. Those found guilty would have their resignations accepted.
Abalos said he hoped the committee could finish reviewing the resignations “in three months.”
Police officers have killed thousands of alleged drug dealers and users since mid-2016, but critics say the wealthy and powerful have been largely untouched.
Abalos previously described the courtesy resignations as radical and a “shortcut” after previous investigations into allegedly corrupt officers took a long time and produced few results.
It is not the first time such drastic measures have been used to clean up the Philippine police force.
Former president Fidel Ramos cracked down on police in the early 1990s, ordering all officers over 56 years of age or with more than 30 years of service to resign. The national police chief and nine other senior officers resigned as a result.