PDEA
MANILA, Philippines — Police officers who “recycle” illegal drugs seized during operations sully the image of law enforcers, said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino, adding they must be charged in court and dismissed from service.
“It’s high time na itong mga pulis na ito na sumisira sa organisasyon ay ma-file-an ng kaso at talagang once and for all ay matanggal na sa serbisyo,” Aquino said in an interview with dzMM radio on Tuesday.
Aquino described those erring officers as the scourge of law enforcement agencies as he underscored the need for “internal cleansing.”
“Ito iyong nakakasira sa organisasyon,” he said. “Ito iyong salot ng mga law enforcement agencies. Kaya nga importante diyan iyong internal cleansing.”
At a Senate hearing on Monday, the PDEA chief revealed that the “recycling” of seized illegal drugs by police officers remains “rampant.”
Aquino said the Intelligence Division of the Philippine National Police has the names of the rogue officers, adding that authorities could simply file lawsuits without publicly naming them first.
Aquino said he has been getting reports on how errant police officers would either sell seized illegal drugs or use them as planted evidence during drug raids.
“I received some information from assets, from other law enforcement agencies themselves. Nakakarinig ako… mga information na ‘Ganito ang ginagawa ni ganyan, ‘pag nago-operate, ganyan ang ginagawa nila.’ So, hearing these reports, it will just show that there’s still recycling of drugs,” Aquino said.
He added, “I guess it’s still rampant…the recycling of drugs.”