Cascolan wants bad cops jailed like ‘criminals’

MANILA, Philippines — Police officers arrested during internal cleansing operations should be treated like civilian criminals and placed behind bars, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan said yesterday.

Cascolan questioned how the organization has previously treated policemen involved in crimes and other illegal activities, saying they should not just be restrained in camps.

“What do you do if you capture a police officer who is involved in illegal gambling? Do you throw them in cells? Tell me,” he said. “We treat civilians the same way we treat criminals in our organization. Actually, it’s better if we treat them worse than that. They have been allotted salaries, given quality welfare, (it’s only right) that we pay that back.”

Cascolan, who will be serving as PNP chief for only two months, said he also wants to address issues that have been hounding the PNP since the drug war was launched: the lack of skills in marksmanship and investigation.

The lack of skills, according to Cascolan, led police officers to kill suspects who allegedly fought back during operations.

“All police personnel must be skilled marksmen and trained investigators. These are some of the issues against the PNP, especially when we try to arrest people,” he said.

Cascolan, co-author of the reinvigorated Oplan Double Barrel, had previously said cases should be built against high-value drug suspects while drug users and small-scale pushers should not be killed.