BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said it has not monitored any illegal activities among its personnel.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. revealed that around 3,000 cops around the country are either under monitoring or facing charges for alleged involvement in illegal activities.
Police Captain Judesses Catalogo, NOCPPO spokesperson, said for the first quarter of this year they did not receive any complaint from the public regarding any cops.
However, Catalogo pointed out that this is only based on their own monitoring and does not include the intelligence report being received by the PNP’s Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (PNP-IMEG).
The PNP-IMEG is responsible for internal cleansing within the police force, primarily targeting erring cops.
Catalogo added they constantly remind their personnel not to get involved in illegal activities.
On Tuesday, May 9, Acorda ordered an intensified intelligence monitoring on around 3,000 “erring” police officers in an effort to clear PNP’s name amid the issue of “ninja cops” within its ranks.
Acorda said the derogatory records of these scalawags included extortion and illegal drugs, among others.
The issue of “ninja cops” or those involved in the alleged recycling of illegal drugs seized from operations back to the street continues to hound the PNP.
To address this, Acorda said the PNP will implement radical moves to ensure “honest law enforcement operations,” including the possibility of dissolving the Special Operations Unit of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group.
He maintained that erring cops have no place in the organization, especially under his watch.
Acorda then urged the public to report rogue police officers in their community just as he vowed that he would be “quick and decisive” in their cleansing efforts.
“We are really going to punish erring personnel but in a way that we are not going to disrespect their uniform… But definitely, we will be harsh to them especially if they are not going to change,” he said. (With a report from Philippine News Agency)/PN
