Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar. INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is not ignoring the alleged lapses and irregularities in anti-criminality operations, its chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Monday, adding that these concerns are being “promptly addressed.”
Eleazar made the remark following the death of 16-year-old Johndy Maglinte in Laguna who was allegedly shot by police even as the minor was wearing handcuffs.
Police claimed that Maglinte and Antonio Castillo Dalit fought back while police officers were serving an arrest warrant. Dalit was also slain during the operations.
“Hindi po natin binabalewala ang mga alegasyon ng lapses sa operasyon ng ating mga pulis. Kaya nga po natin ito iniimbestigahan ay para agad maitama, sakaling may lapses na makita, para hindi na maulit pa,” Eleazar said in a statement.
(We are not ignoring allegations of lapses in the operations of the police. That’s why were are investigating these so we can correct them and they will not happen again.)
“We constantly review our protocols to check if these still fit the kind of setting we have today or if there are adjustments or changes that need to be made,” he added.
Further, Eleazar pointed out that policemen were also being dismissed from the service and punished as part of the disciplinary measures on the part of those who committed grave abuses.
According to Eleazar, based on the PNP data, a total of 18,664 were penalized for various offenses since 2016, a total of 5,151 of them were dismissed from the service.
“Kaya nga po makaaasa ang publiko na hindi kinukunsinti o kukunsintihin ng PNP ang mga pagkakamali dahil hindi dapat pinapandigan ang mali at sa halip ay kailangang itama upang hindi na pamarisan pa,” Eleazar said.
(The public can be assured that we are not tolerating the mistakes of the police because they have to be corrected so they will not be repeated again.)
“This is actually embodied on the Intensified Cleanliness Policy which I launched when I assumed the top PNP post,” the PNP chief added.
The PNP earlier said that the ten police officers linked to the deaths of Maglinte and Dalit are now under restrictive custody as an investigation into the incident gets underway.