By AARON RECUENCO
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has put a stop on its practice of sending erring policemen to conflict-torn areas of the country, particularly in Mindanao where hundreds of errant cops from Metro Manila were sent last year.
Instead, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said they will aggressively pursue any administrative charges that would be slapped against scalawag policemen with the end goal of kicking out from the service those who have serious offenses.
“They will not be transferred because they are facing criminal and administrative charges. We will expedite their administrative cases and met them with appropriate punishment up to dismissal from the service,” said Albayalde.
The official was referring to the more than 100 policemen who were castigated by President Duterte in Malacanang for involvement in various illegal activities, including kidnapping-for-ransom activities of erring cops from Taguig.
Last year, more than 300 cops facing various administrative charges were sent to Basilan and some parts of Mindanao as punishment.
Only half of them, however, had surfaced during the actual deployment. At least two of those cops were killed by gunmen in Mindanao.
Senior Supt. Benigno Durana, Jr., PNP spokesman, said they do not see the deployment of erring cops to conflict areas a solution to the entire problem of abusive policemen.
“If we would deploy them to other areas, we are just transferring the problem,” said Durana.
Right now, Durana said a committee composed of senior officers is studying the cases of each erring policemen to determine the appropriate punishment based on the infractions they committed.
“Some of these policemen are already incorrigible, some, however, can still be saved. So it is those who can still be saved who would be the focus of our restorative strategy on internal cleansing,” said Durana.
The official said that they have been very aggressive in running after erring cops since right now, the government has already given almost every need of the policemen, including high salary and the planned R25 million subsidy for medicine every month for the medical needs of cops and their beneficiaries.
