By: Genalyn Kabiling
The government has vowed to continue to purge the Philippine National Police (PNP) of misfits especially those involved in abuses in the war on illegal drugs, Malacañang declared yesterday.
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the government has not sanctioned the summary killings of drug suspects and would not tolerate any policeman who breaks the law.
Abella made the remarks after the Senate majority issued a resolution urging the government to stop the recent spate of extrajudicial killings in the country.
“While the President is harsh against those involved in illegal drugs, he is equally appalled by misdemeanors of police scalawags. We thus welcome the Senate’s investigations and inquiries on erring police personnel as a manifestation of a freely functioning and democratic State mechanism,” Abella said.
“The President remains firm on the need to cleanse the police of its misfits, especially those responsible for these violations,” he added.
From July 2016 to June 2017, Abella said more than 1,900 drug-related investigations of allegations against cops by the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS).
Of this number, 1,045 cases are now at the administrative proceedings stage and 159 lawmen face dismissal from service, with many others undergoing pre-charge investigations or summary hearings.