477 administrative cases hound Metro Manila cops
The National Capital Region Police Office (Photo from its Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Since the start of 2022 to date, a total of 477 administrative cases have been filed against police officers in Metro Manila, according to data from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
So far, 265 cases, or almost 56%, have been resolved and 212 were still under evaluation.
Of the 265 resolved cases, 209 – or close to 79% — or 209 — are categorized as grave offenses such as dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, conviction of a crime, and falsification of official documents.
Of the remaining 56 resolved cases, 30 are less grave offenses such as simple neglect of duty, simple misconduct, gross discourtesy in the course of official duties, insubordination, and habitual drunkenness. The remaining 26 involve simple offenses.
The heaviest penalty for grave offenses is dismissal from the service, according to the NCRPO.
In a bid to achieve a zero backlog of cases, the NCRPO chief, Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, ordered the reassignment of officers who are lawyers to the NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig — specifically, to the Discipline, Law and Order Division — to help solve the remaining 212 administrative cases.
“With the commitment to raise the level of discipline, competence, and effectiveness of our personnel, we will intensify our efforts to cleanse the ranks within the organization,” Estomo said.
“The road to internal cleansing might be long but with the assistance and expertise of all these lawyers, the internal cleansing effort of the NCRPO will not be in vain,” he added.
Estomo’s order is in line with the goal of the Philippine National Police to improve its credibility.
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