The Bacolod City police chief and four other cops will still be given due process even after President Duterte ordered their removal from their posts, Malacañang said Monday.
The concerned policemen would face the proper administrative proceedings amid their suspected links to the illegal drugs trade, according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
“There is an administrative process for that. Right now, he has been relieved as chief of police of Bacolod,” Panelo said during a Palace press briefing.
“Definitely, due process is always given,” he said.
He said the President must have sufficient basis to order the dismissal of the concerned policemen in Bacolod.
Panelo noted that the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are among the law enforcement agencies that provide the President with information related to those allegedly involved in the narcotics trade.
“There must a basis why the President has relieved this chief. I suppose intelligence information has reached him that’s why he made his move,” he said.
In a visit to Bacolod last Saturday, the President announced the dismissal of Senior Supt. Francis Ebreo and four other police officers for alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Duterte called out the Bacolod police chief if he was present during the private birth anniversary celebration of a businessman before relieving him from his post.
“In your involvement in drugs and making the people of Bacolod miserable, I am relieving and dismissing you from the service as of now, Senior Supt. Francis Ebreo,” he said.
The President has repeatedly warned policemen against getting involved in illegal drugs and other crimes, saying he would not hesitate to fire them from service. (Genalyn Kabiling)
