Senate to question CIDG chief on demotion of 13 Pampanga cops

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate will question Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Amador Corpus over the demotion of 13 police officers formerly assigned in Pampanga who were involved in an irregular anti-drug operation in Mexico town in November 2013.

A dismissal order was issued against the police officers but with a motion for reconsideration in place, it was downgraded into a one-rank demotion in 2017, when Corpus was Central Luzon police director.

Corpus is a classmate of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, who was also the Pampanga police director during the 2013 anti-drug operation.

“Ang intindi ko si Gen. Corpus [made the recommendation]. Si Gen. Corpus ang umaamin na gumawa ng recommendation eh. Palagay ko uungkatin natin [‘yan] mamaya. Tatanungin natin mamaya para mas malinaw,” Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday in an interview with DZMM.

[What I understand is Gen. Corpus [made the recommendation]. Gen. Corpus was the one who admitted making the recommendation. I think we will raise that later. We will ask him about it so it can be clear.]

Sotto said he will ask Corpus what was the basis for downgrading the punishment meted on the officers to just demotion, which he said should not have been the case.

“‘Yan ang magandang hindi naitananong [in the previous hearing]. [Kung] ano ang pinagbasehan niya. ‘Yun ang tanungin natin [That’s a good question. On what his basis was. We will ask that question],” he said.

The 2013 anti-drug operation in Pampanga has been raised in the ongoing hearing of the Senate Committee on Justice on the irregularities in the implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance law and other alleged corruption in the Bureau of Corrections.

Albayalde, who former CIDG chief Benjamin Magalong Jr. and now Baguio City Mayor had implicated into the anti-drug operation, and Corpus were present during the hearing.

The committee will resume its investigation on Thursday morning.

Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson revealed Wednesday that the 13 police officers have been placed in “floating status.”  /muf

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