MANILA – Vice President Leni Robredo called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to stop covering up for its erring policemen, especially those who were included in the government’s “narcolist.”
This after Robredo took a swipe at PNP chief General Archie Gamboa’s leadership following recent reports on the drug links of Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido, the police officer who previously led deadly anti-narcotics operations against drug-linked politicians.
The opposition stalwart added she noticed PNP’s defensive stance on its antidrug operations during her stint as the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) last year.
“Kapag ‘yung stance ng kapulisan, pinapakita na parang pinagtatakpan pa, dito nag-uumpisa ‘yung erosion ng trust ng tao,” Robredo said during her weekly radio program last Sunday.
“Kaya ako, hindi sang-ayon sa ginagawang leadership, hindi lang dito kay Espenido pero kahit nung nasa ICAD ako na imbis na ipakita na hindi nila tinotolerate ang abuses, galit pa sila kapag pinupuna,” she added.
Gamboa repeatedly kept mum on whether the controversial cop Espenido was recalled from his assignment of Bacolod City due to his alleged inclusion in President Rodrigo Duterte’s narco-list.
Robredo also lambasted the early retirement option being offered to policemen with questionable records, and alluded it to the irony in the alleged extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.
“‘Pag ordinaryong tao ka, wala kang karapatang ipagtanggol ‘yung sarili mo, pinapatay ka pa nga. Kapag pulis ka, presumed innocent ka na, [may retirement] with benefits pa. Hanggang ‘di nagbabago ‘yung ganitong attitude ng PNP, wala tayong pag-asa,” said Robredo./PN
