ARMM fires 107 cops

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  -- A total of 107 policemen in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have been terminated from January to July 2014 for various offenses, including drug abuse and absence without official leave (AWOL), the region’s police director said.

Chief Supt. Noel Delos Reyes said all of the policemen they discharged from the service in the past seven months  underwent “due process”.

“And we shall not stop from removing bad eggs in the basket just to maintain public trust and confidence on all police units in the ARMM,” Delos Reyes said.

The ARMM police office discharged 64 policemen in 2013, according to records supplied by Delos Reyes.

Five members of the ARMM police were also demoted last year for various offenses, such as AWOL, insubordination, malingering, and dishonesty.

Delos Reyes said they have also meted out suspensions without pay to 63 abusive policemen in recent months.

“All of them have already served the suspension orders and have promised not to commit mistakes again,” Delos Reyes said.

Some of the  terminated policemen  tested positive for shabu during random drug tests.

“Drug use in the PNP is a very serious offense,” Delos Reyes told reporters in a press conference here Sunday.