Police officers involved in illegal activities, especially illegal drugs, should receive twice the punishment for violating their mandate to uphold the laws of the land, Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Undersecretary Eduardo Año said.
Año, in an interview with Communication Secretary Martin Andanar, said he is still giving erring police officers, a small percentage of the 180,000-strong Philippine National Police, a chance to reform as he expressed that more help is needed to make President Duterte’s drug war a success.
However, the former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff admitted that changing the public’s negative perception on the PNP will not be an easy task even if only a small percentage of the police force is involved in illegal activities.
“Mahabang proseso ito, kasi hindi mo ito mababago overnight eh,” Año said in his interview with Andanar over Radyo Pilipinas.
“Alam mo 180,000 iyong kapulisan natin eh kung iko-compare mo talaga iyong mga gumagawa ng kalokohan, napakaliit na porsiyento, pero dapat wala talaga, kasi iyon iyong sinumpa nating tungkulin eh,” he added.
Año said rogue cops should receive twice the punishment but expressed that these police officers are not hopeless cases.
“Dapat ang parusa doon sa mga pulis na gumagawa ng ganiyan, doble iyong parusa kasi binigyan ka ng mandato para ipatupad ang batas tapos ikaw iyong lalabag,” he said. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
