Palace vows ‘zero tolerance’ vs erring cops

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang admitted Thursday that there are “rotten eggs” in the Philippine National Police (PNP) following a survey that showed most Filipinos believe some police officers are involved in the illegal drug trade and extrajudicial killings (EJKs).

A Social Weather Stations Survey (SWS) released Wednesday revealed that 68 percent of Filipinos believe the police are into the illegal drug trade while 66 percent think they are involved in EJKs.

READ: SWS: Most Filipinos think cops into drugs, EJKs, planting evidence

“Just like in any organization, the Palace is aware that there are rotten eggs that tend to destroy the integrity of the great institution, that is the Philippine National Police (PNP),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

“While there is no denying that there are erring policemen within their ranks, the PNP has done internal cleansing efforts such as the activation of the Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) tasked to go after policemen involved in unlawful activities,” Panelo added.

He said the government has “zero tolerance against police misfits,” citing police killers of Kian delos Santos were convicted and the entire Caloocan City police force was relieved.

The Palace official, however, said that “in the spirit of fairness, the “SWS should have also fielded a question regarding the good deeds of our policemen in the war against drugs.”

He said a total of 165 police officers were killed and 575 were wounded in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, citing the latest report of the PNP.

“These figures dispel allegations of critics and detractors on legitimate drug operations and show that drug pushers and addicts actually resort to violence when confronted with a threat of apprehension,” he said.

“Indeed, illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine or shabu, alter emotions and cause anger and fear on the part of the user so we are not dumbfounded when violent encounters ensue during police operations,” he added.

Panelo quoted President Rodrigo Duterte, saying “There will be hell to pay if you become worse than criminals.”

“Such actions show that we in the administration are intolerant with any kind of abuse coming from those whose duty is to serve and protect the Filipino people,” he said. /muf