Interior and Local Government Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr. File photo / Albert Calvelo of Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — The names of top Philippine National Police (PNP) officials found to have ties to the illegal drug trade will remain confidential.
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on Friday that the National Police Commission, through the initial review of a five-man committee, will submit to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the list of PNP colonels and generals who have tendered their courtesy resignations and determined to have links with the criminal drug syndicates based on their evaluation.
READ: PNP hopes body to vet resignations will be ‘bias-free’
But asked if their names would be made public, he said: “Hindi na, there’s no need [No more, there’s no need].”
“This is a radical move. Kamukha noong sinasabi ko, extraordinary times call for radical and bold acts. This is out of the box. Kung, let’s say, may matanggap kang resignation, let them retire silently,” Abalos said in a news conference.
(This is a radical move. As I said before, extraordinary times call for radical and bold acts. This is out of the box. If let’s say, we receive a resignation, let them retire silently.)
Abalos noted, however, that if authorities have sufficient evidence for a criminal case, this can be “pursued in court as mandated by law.”
“Kung wala ka namang ganoong katibay [na ebidensya], pero nakita talagang may involvement, let them retire peacefully,” he added.
(If we don’t find strong evidence but see an involvement, let them retire peacefully.)
But Abalos pointed out that their surveillance, monitoring, and investigations on all police officers will continue “because what is important is to eradicate the problem of drugs once and for all.”
Abalos said nearly all ranking PNP officers had heeded his call to voluntarily step down from their posts in support of the government’s bid to cleanse the police ranks of ties to the illegal drug trade.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said that of the 953 police generals and colonels in the country, 904 have already submitted their courtesy resignations.
READ: Abalos: 904 PNP generals, colonels have now submitted their courtesy resignations
Last week, with Marcos’ go-signal, Abalos publicly appealed for the PNP’s top brass to tender their courtesy resignations as the government pursues a “radical approach” in weeding out so-called ninja cops.
Marcos later said his administration had long been planning the move in light of its recalibrated approach to the drug war.
Legislators, groups, and organizations opposed the appeal, saying it would only help erring police officers evade accountability and escape justice.
READ: Critics say DILG chief only giving ‘narco’ cops a ‘graceful exit’