Marcos Jr. says weeding out ninja cops part of new drug war approach
MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said his administration had been planning the move to weed out high-ranking police officers with illicit drug ties for some time, as part of the government’s efforts to cleanse the police ranks and continue the drug war.
Marcos was first asked if he had greenlighted the appeal of Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. for all police colonels and generals to tender their courtesy resignation in a bid to purge the Philippine National Police (PNP) of any link to the illegal drug syndicates.
READ: 429 PNP generals, colonels asked to resign in internal ‘narco’ purge
“We have been planning this for a while. Let me be very clear. Remember, during the campaign, noong tinatanong ako kung ano iyong gagawin natin doon sa drug war o drug problem [when I was being asked about what I will do for the drug war or the drug problem]. This is it. We approach it in an entirely different way,” he told reporters.
Marcos said this was part of their efforts to cleanse the police ranks and ensure that the officers who remain in service are not involved with criminal drug syndicates.
“Alam naman natin na iyong problema sa drugs, hindi mangyayari iyan kung hindi kasabwat iyong mga iba diyan sa pulis kaya kailangan natin tingnan ng mabuti, sino ba talaga ang kasabwat diyan. Sino ba talaga ang involved? Sino ang hindi na talaga pwede magserbisyo dahil associated na sila sa mga drug lord?” he added.
(We know that the drugs will not be a problem if syndicates are not allied with some people in the police force. That’s why we must thoroughly look into who is good and involved. Who are really involved? And who will no longer be allowed to return to the service because of their association with drug lords?)
Marcos reiterated that a committee will be formed to review the records of the police officers, and those cleared will be “slowly reinstated.”
“And maybe, we’ll have to decide: What do we do with those implicated to be involved in the drug trade? Siguro iyong mga severe cases, kakasuhan natin. So we’ll see first [Maybe we’ll file cases against those with severe cases]. We’re not yet there,” he added.
Marcos underscored the need to mount sufficient evidence against drug-involved PNP officers before filing a case before the court.
“We have to build the case,” he pointed out. “Iyong haka-haka lang, tsimis tsimis lang, ito involved dito, ito involved diyan, dinaanan na natin iyan. Walang nangyari so tiyakin natin na kung magkakaso tayo, ipapanalo talaga natin at makukulong talaga kung sino iyong napatunayan na kasabwat dito sa drug trade.”
(Speculations and gossip about who is involved here and who is involved there, we’ve gone through that. It didn’t work, so we need to make sure that if we’re going to be filing cases, we’ll win them and really put those proven to be involved in the drug trade behind bars.)
While an investigation is underway into whether police personnel have ties with illegal drug syndicates, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and Abalos have said that all PNP colonels and generals are expected to perform their duties and responsibilities as usual.
Restoring public trust in the PNP
Former chiefs such as Senator Ronald dela Rosa and Guillermo Eleazar have been responsible for several internal purges inside the PNP throughout the years.
To quote dela Rosa: “We have to clean our own house first before we can effectively fight crime.”
The public’s reaction to the subsequent list from the Duterte administration of police officers allegedly involved in the drug trade was shock and alarm. A study conducted in December 2019 found that 78% of the respondents were reflected fear in the existence of “ninja cops.”
These recent incidents show the PNP’s apparent ineptitude in keeping the public safe from criminals.
“We are aware of the public’s trust and confidence in us,” Eleazar said in one of the media interviews. “We won’t let them down.”
