Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said on Sunday that a group of erring policemen, mostly from Metro Manila, who defied their transfer order to Basilan province in February, had been dismissed from the service and their benefits canceled.
He added that the policemen would also be considered marked men should they join criminal syndicates.
Of the 287 policemen that President Duterte wanted transferred to Basilan, only 53 showed up at Villamor Airbase on Feb. 21 for the flight that would take them south.
Another was already in Zamboanga waiting for his colleagues before their deployment to Basilan.
But 40 others stayed put in the metropolis and offered excuses like pending court cases or their imminent retirement.
Of the 287 errant policemen, 253 were assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office or different metro police units.
They were facing administrative and criminal charges ranging from simple neglect of duty to grave misconduct, including drug use and extortion. The President had ordered their transfer to Basilan as punishment.
“More than half of [those facing transfer] did not go to Basilan. So, it has been more than a month and they are now declared Awol (absent without official leave). They are [considered] dismissed and their benefits canceled,” Sueno said in a radio interview.
“Maybe their livelihood is OK or maybe they have received money and decided to take on other jobs,” he added.
“The President has said that these scalawag policemen know the [illegal] operations. Maybe they will end up with the syndicates so they become targets,” Sueno said.
According to him: “Our policemen already know [who they are] and so these [scalawags] are marked [men]. We have lost our patience with them.”