EDITORIAL- Shortcut to cleansing in the PNP

Amid reports that several star-rank police officers and colonels were reluctant to tender their courtesy resignations, President Marcos expressed his support yesterday for the move, saying it was part of the campaign against illegal drugs.

The call was made by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, whose department has jurisdiction over the Philippine National Police. PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Az-urin, who reportedly backed the move, was the first to heed the call, submitting his courtesy resignation on Thursday and urging his subordinates to do the same.

While the call affects 956 police officers – 144 generals and 812 full colonels – Azurin said fewer than 10 have been implicated in the illegal drug trade. This led to comments that any purge should cover the entire

PNP, since many lower ranking cops have also been implicated in drug trafficking and other criminal activities including illegal gambling protection rackets, extortion and kidnapping. Five lower-ranking PNP members, for example, were indicted in connection with the disappearance of an e-sabong financier in Laguna in 2021.

Another example is S/Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group who was arrested in a sting in Manila last Oct. 8 that yielded 990 kilos of shabu valued at P6.7 billion. Azurin noted that a non-commissioned officer could not have handled nearly a ton of shabu without the involvement of higher-ranking officers. This point, however, has yet to be established conclusively.

The Commission on Human Rights expressed a common concern: the possible loss of accountability for officers linked to illegal drug deals, if they are al-lowed to retire without facing prosecution. Azurin had said the acceptance of a courtesy resignation would not result in the immediate forfeiture of retirement benefits, but he said charges would be filed against officers linked to drug trafficking. While the cases are pending, however, he said the officers would con-tinue receiving their monthly pensions, until convicted if the evidence warrants.

Abalos, in issuing the call, had noted the long judicial process in establishing guilt, and said the submission of courtesy resignations would be a “shortcut” in PNP cleansing. Any shortcut should not short-circuit the

process of criminal justice, which requires prosecution, conviction and punishment.