A total of 2,291 policemen have been slapped with administrative charges in the first five months of this year, a proof of the intensified internal cleansing of the Philippine National Police, according to a police officer.
Lawyer Alfegar Triambulo, head of the Internal Affairs Service, said the figure is 36 percent higher compared to the 1,683 cases in the same period last year.
Monthly, he said IAS receives an average of 458 cases from 337 last year.
Based on the IAS data, most of the policemen charged are rookie cops, or those with a rank of patrolman.
The administrative cases, he said, range from illegal drug activities, violation during police operation, and indiscriminate firing. Some policemen were also charged with violating election laws, particularly vote-buying during the midterm elections.
Triambulo, however, said that the despite the increase in the number of cases against policemen, the IAS had a high solution rate, with 1,454 resolved cases from January to May this year.
The PNP has been aggressive in implementing reform programs to institute discipline especially among recruits.
Since his assumption, PNP chief Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde ordered a mandatory commando training for all incoming policemen to ensure discipline among recruits.
Recently, PNP leadership lobbying resulted in President Duterte transferring the supervision of training programs for all policemen, including the PNP Academy.
An anti-scalawag unit of the PNP was also created, which has so far, arrested more than 100 erring cops. (Aaron Recuenco)
