President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday criticized the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign during which no arrests were made and repeated his warning against police scalawags.
Duterte, who vowed to pursue a relentless drive against illegal drugs, said the police during the Aquino administration made no arrests and showed only a few drug busts.
“The police in the previous administration caught no one and made only a few drug busts, and it was only when I became President that more arrests were made,” Duterte said during the 68th National Security Council and 69th National Intelligence Coordinating Agency founding anniversary celebration in Pasay City.
He made his statement even as Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said Wednesday rogue cops would suffer the same fate as ordinary criminals.
He made this remarks following the death of a Taguig policeman and the arrest of three other cops for alleged involvement in organized kidnap-for-ransom activities.
“Just as we are relentless and chilling in our war on drugs, we will also be relentless, resolute and chilling in our internal cleansing program. Relentless not only in punishing erring cops but also in plugging loopholes in our systems and procedures that may breed recalcitrant behavior in our ranks,” Albayalde said during the awarding of outstanding police officers at the National Police National Capital Region Police Office headquarters in Taguig City.
“We will also be resolute in our strong desire to achieve an organizational culture where professionalism and integrity pervade and endure at all times and in all circumstances.”
Duterte said despite his promise to protect policemen encountering problems in the performance of their duties, he would not tolerate policemen involved in illegal activities.
He made the warning after a policeman was killed and three others were arrested for their alleged involvement in a kidnapping and extortion incident in Taguig City on Tuesday.
He urged policemen not to engage in illegal drugs, kidnapping, murder-for-hire and extortion activities.
In his third State of the Nation Address on July 23, Duterte said he would be as “relentless and chilling” as the day [his war on drugs] began in July 2016. With PNA