MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured on Tuesday it is ready to investigate two colonels who are allegedly still “playing with drugs” as claimed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the PNP is ready to dig up available records of police officials should Duterte decide to reveal their names to the public.
“Ang PNP ay nakahandang mag-imbestiga at i-validate ang information na makukuha natin sakali mang pangalanan sila ng ating Pangulo,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
[The PNP is ready to investigate and validate whatever information we will get in case the President reveals their names.]
“Kung sakali man na nagtutugma ito sa ating listahan, mas mabuti at meron na tayong nakahandang bakground information sa kanina. Kung sakali man na iba pa ito sa existing listahan natin, gagawin natin ang background check para makabuo tayo ng case laban sa mapapangalanan na mga opisyal na ito,” he added.
[It will be better if their names match those in the watchlist since we would already have a prepared background information about them. If in case their names are different than those in the existing list, we will do a background check to build a case against these officials.]
Currently, the PNP is monitoring 22 police officers allegedly involved in the drug trade. The highest ranking officer in the watchlist being a police major.
In a forum during his official trip to Russia, Duterte said two generals are still “playing with drugs,” in time with the investigation being conducted by the Senate on the irregularities in the implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance law, which has branched out to a probe on “ninja cops.” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde was invited in the recent hearings as a resource person.
READ: Duterte: 2 generals still playing with illegal drugs
When he arrived at the Davao International Airport from the trip on Sunday, he later clarified that he was referring to two colonels, saying he was confused by the change of ranks in the PNP. /muf
READ: Duterte: 2 police colonels, not generals, linked to ‘ninja cops’