LEGAZPI CITY –– Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa, said at least 6,000 policemen have been dismissed since he assumed leadership of the PNP in October last year.
Gamboa, who was in this Albay provincial capital on Tuesday, said the dismissal of these policemen, who were found guilty in administrative and criminal charges, was part of the PNP’s continuing cleansing process aimed at weeding out errant officers.
He said the process enabled the PNP to get rid of policemen involved in criminal activities, such as the illegal drug trade, and those who stopped reporting for work (absence without official leave).
But he said the 6,000 dismissed cops represented only 2.8 percent of the 209,000-member PNP.
“The PNP has grown so large that we have to admit that there are ‘pasaways’ (scalawags) in the organization, so something has to be done to correct it so we can move on,” Gamboa said.