ILOILO City – Three police officers are on the brink of dismissal due to allegations of illegal drug use. The names of these officers have been withheld, but it’’s known that they were stationed at the Antique Police Provincial Office (APPO), Aklan PPO, and Negros Occidental PPO.
Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, the director of Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), confirmed that the officers’ urine samples tested positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu, during random drug tests conducted by the PRO-6’s health service.
Villaflor said the officers have the right to challenge these test results. They are permitted to seek an independent drug testing center accredited by the Department of Health (DOH) for a second opinion.
“They can contest the results within 15 days of receiving them through a confirmatory test. Due process is being observed, allowing them to defend themselves,” Villaflor added.
Police Colonel Agustina Ompoy, head of the PRO-6’s Forensic Unit, said two of the officers, from APPO and NOCPPO, have already undergone these confirmatory tests.
“The officer from Aklan PPO has not yet taken the confirmatory test. We haven’t received any information about it yet,” Ompoy told Panay News.
Villaflor also said the three officers have been temporarily relieved of their duties and disarmed. Their badges were confiscated while they undergo pre-charge investigations and face potential summary dismissal proceedings.
They’ve been provisionally assigned to the PRO-6’s Regional Personnel Holding Administrative Office.
“They won’t be assigned any positions during the investigation to ensure easy accessibility should they be summoned for face-to-face interviews,” said Villaflor.
These three officers were part of over 13,000 police personnel in the region who underwent “surprise” drug tests./PN
