PNP chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday announced that it is already screening its drug enforcement units (DEUs) as part of its internal cleansing efforts following reports of the alleged involvement of ranking police officers in the P6.7 billion drug haul case last year.
PNP chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the vetting process of all members of DEUs and PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) nationwide is underway.
“What we are doing now is really conducting vetting on all drug enforcement units, hindi lang po sa (not only on) PDEG but on all DEUs, mapa-region, mapa-probinsya (in regions and provinces). Tuloy tuloy po ito (This will continue),” Acorda told reporters.
Aside from the strict vetting process of DEUs, Acorda said officials are also studying what to do with its special operation units (SOUs).
“We are in the details of discussing. With regards sa pagbuwag (to dissolving), it’s on my table, and we need to really study it,” Acorda said, referring to SOUs.
“That will be the subject of discussion in our group, and with regards to the naming and renaming, it’s all the same. We want the concept of the operation’s conduct and how they will implement their job. We will come up with a final decision on that,” he added.
Regarding the P6.7 billion drug haul case, Acorda said the police force and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) are still consolidating pieces of evidence and reports.
Last May 3, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said they would finish investigating the case and release results in a few weeks.