MANILA, Philippines — A day after he was officially named chief of the 205,000-strong Philippine National Police, Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa admitted there was “so much to do,” particularly with President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against drugs and the internal cleansing the 55-year-old police chief began when he took over the PNP helm in an acting capacity last September.
“We need to do our best to lessen, if not totally eradicate, this [drug] problem. Otherwise, it may destroy us not only today but also the future generations,” he said in a radio interview, echoing the President’s oft-repeated line against narcotics trafficking.
But Gamboa, who reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 in September, also hinted of a slight change of tack under his leadership with a focus on high-value targets instead of small-time pushers and a significant increase in the average volume of drug contraband seizures.
Gamboa said he fully agrees with the President’s position that illegal drugs must be his top priority but he was also in the middle of a campaign to cleanse the PNP of scalawags, especially since he replaced Gen. Oscar Albayalde, who was implicated in the so-called “ninja cops” scandal.
“The priority is our campaign against illegal drugs, and second is the internal cleansing. We will not deviate from these,” he said.
He said he had already ordered changes in the antidrugs strategy when he assumed office in September and the PNP has already increased the average volume of seizure from 15 grams to 56 grams.
But expectations of the new PNP chief are high.
His immediate superior, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said on Saturday that he would expect Gamboa to also improve the image of the PNP which has been rankled by persistent charges of corruption.
“I also expect that he would continue to cleanse the PNP ranks of scalawags,” he said, referring to the internal cleansing that Gamboa launched when he took office.
At the start of the year, Gamboa ordered policemen to comply with the existing policies on body mass index or else they will be barred from attending training for career advancement and promotion.
The order evoked memories of former PNP chief Panfilo Lacson, now a third-term senator, who also tried to improve the image of the police when he was at the helm from 1999 to 2001.
Lacson himself encouraged Gamboa to vigorously pursue internal cleansing at the PNP.