PNP eyes new revamp of ‘special’ antidrug units

In an apparent bid to curb increasing police abuses since 2017, the Philippine National Police announced plans to disband 17 special operations units (SOUs) of its controversial Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) created six years ago.

In a television interview on Thursday, PNP spokesperson Jean Fajardo said the PNP leadership was already “studying” to deactivate DEG’s 17 SOUs in each of the regions across the country so commanders may easily monitor their personnel and prevent them from committing unscrupulous activities.

These include DEG officers involved in extorting money from drug suspects they arrested and the resurgence of “ninja cops,” who resell or recycle illegal drugs seized in legitimate police operations.

Should the proposal proceed, Fajardo explained, DEG officers would be recalled to the PNP’s Camp Crame headquarters and there will be new rules for so-called special operations.

PNP chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. earlier said they were still studying details, but the hierarchy was inclined to implement case operational plans, or “coplan,” which will require definite targets and specific activities between the DEG and the concerned drug enforcement unit in the region.

The DEG will naturally have to comply with the new system, but Col. Marlou Martinez, the DEG’s deputy director for administration, said rules would “ensure the integrity and credibility.”

If the plan pushes through, the PNP’s antidrug unit, created in 2017, would again be revamped in just six years with measures similar to the ones implemented to clean the police ranks six years ago.

In January 2017, then President Rodrigo Duterte dissolved the PNP’s antinarcotics unit, the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), as part of his antidrug war.

By June, the National Police Commission reorganized the AIDG and renamed it DEG, revamping its special operations and drug enforcement units across the country.

g/