Bato to sack 174 cops who tested positive for drugs
Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on Monday said he will order the dismissal of 174 policemen who has tested positive for drugs.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City, Dela Rosa said only his signature is needed in the dismissal recommendation from the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service (IAS), which conducted the drug tests since July.
“Merong text sa akin ang IAS. Meron na daw s’yang sinubmit na lahat ng positive sa drug test, for my signature na lang para for dismissal. Dismiss namin lahat ng positive sa drug test. Di-dismiss namin ngayon. Ngayon pag-akyat ko pag kuha ko ng papeles pirmahan ko para mabawasan ‘yung sakit ng ulo sa atin,” Dela Rosa said.
(IAS sent me a text message. It said it submitted a list of police officers who tested positive for drugs which is up for my signature for dismissal. We would dismiss all those who tested positive. We would dismiss them now. When I get the documents, I would sign it so that the reason for our headaches would diminish.)
“Once napirmahan ko ‘yun, bye bye na kayong 174 (Once I sign it, goodbye to all the 174 police officers),” he added.
Dela Rosa said he would personally block any attempt of the policemen who tested positive for drug use to be reinstated. They can file an appeal to the National Appellate Board and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
“Huwag na kayo mag-attempt na magpa-reinstate dahil haharangin ko ‘yung reinstatement ninyo… Hindi na kayo mapapareinstate habang buhay ako. Hahanapan ko ng paraan na harangin ko kayo. Sabihin n’yo personal na ito. Pepersonalin ko kayo,” he said.
(Don’t attempt to be reinstated because I would block it. As long as I live, you won’t be reinstated. I would find a way to block you. You may say that I’m taking it personally but I would really do it.)
Asked about President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest “narcolist” with about 5,000 names, Dela Rosa said the PNP will enforce “appropriate actions” against high-value targets, particularly barangay (village) officials, once they are furnished by Malacañang with a copy.
“Kung hindi pa tayo nakapag-conduct ng case build up against them gagawa tayo ng panibagong case build up lalong lalo na sa mga government officials, dahil karamihan doon government officials. Pinakamarami doon barangay kapitan. So priority natin yun dahil kaya nga hindi nagbabago yung drug picture sa isang barangay dahil hanggang ngayon nandyan pa yung kapitan na yan. Siya ang talagang pinaka protector if not the drug lord himself. Priority natin ‘yan,” the PNP chief added.
(If we haven’t conducted a case build up against them, we would create a new one especially against government officials because most of the names on the list are government officials. Majority of them are village captains. So it’s priority because the reason why the drug picture in a village remains the same is because until now, the village captain is there. He is the protector if not the drug lord himself. It’s our priority.) RAM/rga
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