Cleansing the PNP will be a herculean mission

[Mike J]

I cannot help but wonder how many of these cops will be slapped on the wrist, transferred, or even promoted.  No wonder the locals say "only in Da Philippines" 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1787700/50-cops-in-p-6-7-b-shabu-haul-charged

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 50 police personnel, including high-ranking officials, were named respondents in the criminal complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman for their involvement in the controversial anti-drug operation last year that led to the seizure of 990 kilos of “shabu” (crystal meth) worth P6.7 billion.

In a presser on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said the Philippine National Police and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) filed the complaint on Friday afternoon against the 50 personnel for violation of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous and Drugs Act of 2002.

They were also found liable for falsification, perjury, false testimony, and malversation of public property. They were also charged with obstruction of justice.

Abalos, chair of the Napolcom, said they were optimistic about the developments on the case, which aims to weed out cops with drug links from the PNP and clean up the police organization’s image.

“The Napolcom and the [PNP Special Investigation Task Group 990] have gone through everything — the testimonies, the pieces of evidence — and we really saw many lapses in the operation. We collated all the information which served as the basis of the complaint filed before the Ombudsman,” Abalos told a press conference at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) head office in Quezon City.2 generals Napolcom vice chair and executive officer Alberto Bernardo said that 12 of the 50 respondents were commissioned officers.

Two were generals: Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr., former deputy chief for operations, the third-highest official in the PNP; and Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, former director of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (DEG).

Other ranking officials named were Col. Julian Olonan, chief of DEG Special Operations Unit (SOU) Region 4A; Lt. Col. Arnulfo Ibañez,  the officer in charge of DEG SOU-National Capital Region; Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzales of Quezon City Police District; Maj. Michael Angelo Salmingo, deputy of PDEG SOU NCR; Lt. Jonathan Sosongco, head of the DEG SOU 4A arresting team.

Also named respondents were ranking officials of DEG: Lt. Col. Dhefry Punzalan; Lt. Jeffrey Padilla; Lt. Randolph Piñon; Lt. Silverio Bullester II; and Lt. Ashrap Amerol.

Except for Santos, all the named respondents were part of the 49 PNP personnel recommended by the PNP SITG 990 in April to be criminally charged for violation of Sections 21 (custody and disposition of confiscated drugs), 27 (criminal liability of a public officer for misappropriating seized drugs) and 92 (delay and bungling in the prosecution of drug cases) of RA 9165.Administrative raps

The complaint pending before the Ombudsman also included dismissed MSgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., an intelligence officer of the DEG SOU-NCR, as respondent. He is currently detained in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while the drug case against him is ongoing.

Aside from the criminal charges, Abalos said the Napolcom was finishing the administrative proceedings against 48 personnel caught on CCTV during the botched operation outside the Wealth and Personal Development Lending Inc. office in Tondo, owned by Mayo, where the shabu haul was found.

[Clermont]

I wonder what your thoughts are about this story, this has been going on for a long time now. Similar Overseas cases seem to be dun and dusted a lot quicker than this case, maybe they are looking for a way around the law. Come on you Philippine

On 5/12/2023 at 11:09 AM, scott h said:

Yep, that is what my brother said, but they will make you jump through hoops like you can't believe before they shell out. They usually interrogate you to the ninth degree about any family, friends, ex friends, classmates, co-workers, anybody or any organization imaginable where you might borrow the money, before they will buy you an economy class ticket back to the states, they don't hand over the cash.

Now this is what my brother says.....but then again, he BLAMED me for the bicycle tire tracks in our mom's flower bed....have not trusted the little worm since.

knocker’s, what’s your opinion, will they be convicted or not? 

[Old55]

Mañana na Sir Mike.

Notice it said "sued" not charged? Filipino justice is inversely proportional to high-ranking individuals. This will eventually all go away and be forgotten.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Old55

[hk blues]

Related - I read an article today about 28 BIR employees being fired for various misdemeanours.  Some were fired for "serious dishonesty" which begs the question as to if being merely "dishonest" is not worthy of being fired! 

[intrepid]

23 hours ago, Mike J said:

I cannot help but wonder how many of these cops will be slapped on the wrist, transferred, or even promoted.  No wonder the locals say "only in Da Philippines" 

It is sad for me to say your first sentence is correct and your second sentence wrong.  It my years of working in law enforcement at a department which grew from about 30 officers in 1980 to over 300 when I retired in 2015 I lost count of how many officers who were promoted after screwing up.  Some minor mistakes I understand can be forgiven and overlooked.  However, criminal theft, assaults, and serious driving violations were overlooked more and more in the latter years.  And yes, many coworkers were amazed that these violations were not only overlooked, the the officer would be the next to be promoted.  After a while I finally got numb to it and would just do my job the best I could.  I feel sorry for the low level field  FBI agents which all the information coming out recently from the whistle blowers.
Just as the local Filipino’s would complain about their government corruption, I would have to let them know their government corruption has nothing on the US government.  I tell them the US has been doing it longer and have found more ways to hide it and be more sneaky.  Sorry to say it seems power in most places around leads to corruption.

 

[Mike J]

Duterte says kill them instead of putting them in prison and let the military take the place of the PNP. 

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/duterte-to-police-in-illegal-drug-trade-shoot-them-dead/ar-AA1cxu5s?cvid=90ce15e6659546c3b8799952acb95a93&ei=22

FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte wants all police officers involved in the illegal drug trade dead instead of putting them behind bars.

In his weekly program aired at SMNI, Duterte acknowledged that the police helped him restore public order and safety in Davao City, but there are now several "hoodlums" and corrupt members within their organization.

"I love the police because they help me restore public order and safety in Davao City. Without the help of the police and the Army, the military, I could not have done it," Duterte said.

Related video: VP Duterte, itinangging si Romualdez ang nakakumbinsi sa kaniyang tumakbo nitong eleksyon | SONA (Dailymotion)

"But you know... Maraming hoodlums nakapasok sa police, even 'yung mga colonels ngayon, pati naging generals. Maraming corrupt diyan talaga (There are many hoodlums who have entered the police force, even the colonels now, and those who became generals. There are many corrupt there)," he added.

Duterte also said that there are police officers who are not just providing protection to drug dealers, but are into drug dealing themselves.

"The volume is one too many. Ilan ang pulis na involved (How many police personnel are involved)? Marami 'yan (There are many), it will go up to the generals," he said.

"At one time, maybe I will announce all the names of those whom I believe are corrupt at nasa droga (and involved in illegal drugs)," he added.

Duterte, a staunch anti-drug advocate, said the "best way to deal" with these police officers is to kill them.

"Huwag mo nang i-korte korte 'yan, p******a, patayin mo... Shoot them dead. What for? Daan mo sa due process?...Bakit pa kita buhayin (Don't bring them anymore to court, son of a b****, just kill them... Shoot them dead. Observe due process? Why would I keep you alive)?" he said.

If he were still president, Duterte said he would mandate the whole police force to surrender all issued and illegal firearms within 24 hours and let the military take over.

"Within 24 hours, surrender all your issued firearms and the illegal firearms... then I will allow the military to take over, maintain order in the meantime," Duterte said.

"The Army would be happy to take over and I supposed that is what should happen," he added.

[RBM]

On 6/14/2023 at 7:11 AM, Mike J said:

I cannot help but wonder how many of these cops will be slapped on the wrist, transferred, or even promoted.  No wonder the locals say "only in Da Philippines" 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1787700/50-cops-in-p-6-7-b-shabu-haul-charged

 

Try explaining this to someone whom has never been here!!!!

[Kingpin]

14 hours ago, Mike J said:

there are police officers who are not just providing protection to drug dealers, but are into drug dealing themselves.

Sometimes I feel like if they made drugs legal there would only be like 3 or 4 crimes per month here.

In related news:

 

Quote

 

2,500 cops nationwide suspended, fired for disciplinary reasons

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1964118/cebu/local-news/2500-cops-nationwide-suspended-fired-for-disciplinary-reasons

 

 

[Lee]

 

Manila Times

Quote

 

INTERIOR Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has acknowledged that a 'powerful syndicate' inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) may be behind the attempt to cover up the bid to pilfer part of the P6.75 billion worth of shabu seized during a police raid in Manila last October.

Abalos said in a television interview that the syndicate was made up of 'very evil persons. They will hurt you where it will hurt you most.'He said the criminal group could be the reason investigators had a hard time finding witnesses who were willing to cooperate. It was security cameras that provided the damning evidence to pin down the officers in question.He said the involvement of a large number of police officers in the cover-up was also what impelled him to call for the courtesy resignations of high-ranking PNP officials.'I felt so frustrated [with] what's happening here. What we should do after the resignation, we want to make sure to [let] them [know] that we're serious,' Abalos said.Hours earlier, the Interior chief announced the filing of charges for the attempted cover-up against 50 police officers, including two generals, before the Office of the Ombudsman.Abalos is not the first to speculate that a criminal ring had established a network inside the PNP that enables it to 'recover' part of the drugs confiscated during police raids before they are inventoried. The existence of such a syndicate has been insinuated in a series of congressional hearings, which were also stymied by the lack of credible testimony.At the start of his term in 2016, then-president Rodrigo Duterte declared he would rid the country of drug traffickers within six months. He ordered the police to spearhead the campaign, vowing to back them all the way.'What I will do is urge Congress to restore [the] death penalty by hanging,' Duterte said. 'If you resist, show violent resistance, my order to the police [will be] to shoot to kill. Shoot to kill for organized crime. You heard that? Shoot to kill for every organized crime.'The war on drugs took longer than six months, and it was still being waged when Duterte finished his term in 2022. By that time, 2,555 Filipinos had been killed in drug-related police operations. The actual figure, some human rights groups claim, was closer to 12,000 — an unprecedented spree in what they decried as extrajudicial killings.The virtual carte blanche Duterte gave to the police also provided them a feeling of being protected by a cloak of impunity. It also nurtured an irresistible temptation to enter into a modus vivendi with drug dealers, who were only too willing to strike a deal with officers who wanted a share of the action.Recently, Duterte denounced the current PNP leadership for being the 'gatekeeper' of the illegal drug trade.The PNP spokesman responded by saying the number of officers involved in illegal drugs is minimal.'The organization did not tolerate such wrongdoings; we penalized those who were proven guilty,' the spokesman said.The fact that a total of 836 policemen have been dismissed from the force so far this year 'is a manifestation that the organization has well-functioning disciplinary mechanisms to weed out those who are unfit to be in the organization.'PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. also assured the public that the organization 'will continue vetting and investigating the backgrounds of our drug enforcement officers to make sure that none of them turn to the wrong path.'The five-man advisory panel created by Abalos has already recommended criminal and administrative charges against four senior police officers over alleged ties to the illegal drug trade.Almost a thousand senior police officers submitted their courtesy resignations, he added.Abalos has made it a mission to dismantle the unholy alliance between cops and drug traffickers and restore the PNP's tarnished image.'The buck doesn't stop here. It will be a long fight,' he said.The multimillion shabu bust could provide the momentum for this herculean task. Let us hope that Abalos is up to it.

 

 

 

 

https://headtopics.com/ph/cleansing-the-pnp-will-be-a-herculean-mission-40244302

[BrettGC]

Until they lose the mentality that "gifts" aren't corrupt, things won't change much.  I know that's lower level stuff for the most part but if you start at the root of the problem....

Mandatory declaration of all "gifts" would be a start if it's enforced.  As to enforcement, bigger brains that me can figure that out.