CEBU, Philippines - Are some police trainees using the very substances they are supposed to be confiscating?
Police Regional Office 7 director Marcelo Garbo Jr. has ordered the investigation on police officers allegedly supplying and using illegal drugs near the PNP Regional Training School in Gaas, Balamban town.
An operative of the Special Reaction Unit of the Cebu Provincial Police Office was recently accused of supplying shabu to communities near the RTS while a police trainee was also caught using the substance recently.
Gaas barangay captain William Genel said the two policemen are among the 12 people identified using shabu at the perimeter of the training school.
A barangay tanod and a member of the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Barangay Gaas who also admitted to using the illegal drugs, pointed to the SRU operative as the one who supplied them the shabu and even offered them to use it with him.
Garbo said he will have the matter investigated and will impose a “harsh punishment” if the allegations are proven true. The maximum punishment could be dismissal from service, he said.
The PRO-7 director said they will observe due process before deciding on the fate of the policemen allegedly involved.
The SRU operative, whose name is being withheld pending investigation, has denied the allegations, Genel said.
With that denial, Genel was prompted to call for his lupon. But during the face-off, the lupon reportedly got scared and refused to talk.
Today, the barangay captain said that he will again call for his barangay councilman who reportedly caught the three (the SRU policemen, the lupon, and the tanod) sniffing shabu. He will also call for the barangay tanod involved.
Genel further said that CPPO director Patrocinio Comendador, Jr. met with him to discuss the matter. He showed him the minutes of their meetings relating to the allegations.
The SRU policeman was temporarily transferred to the CPPO headquarters while the allegations are being investigated.
Genel said he is already alarmed as the illegal drug activities near the training school appear to be getting rampant.
The 10 other people, including the lupon and the three tanods, have pledged not to use illegal drugs again, otherwise Genel said he will be forced to sue them. —/BRP (FREEMAN)