Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief-now Senator Ronaldo Dela Rosa on Tuesday warned law enforcers to be wary of colleagues involved in criminal activities, saying anti-drug units in particular were prone to temptations.
Meanwhile, the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) are working together to purge their ranks of rogue cops and agents who are involved in illegal activities.
“I am encouraging not only the PNP, lahat ng law enforcement agency pati na ang PDEA at NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to embark on a thorough internal cleansing process,” Dela Rosa said.
The former PNP chief delivered a privilege speech on Monday about the arrest of a PDEA supervisor and two agents in a buy-bust operation in Taguig City on Dec. 6.
The PDEA personnel yielded 1.35 kilos of shabu worth P9.18 million, buy-bust money, four firearms and a digital weighing scale.
Dela Rosa also talked about the involvement of Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., an active member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group Special Operation Unit, in a drug den that stored some 990 kilograms of shabu worth P6.7 billion.
He likewise cited the two cops who were killed in an ambush by members of a syndicate after an anti-illegal drug operation in Pampanga.
Dela Rosa said law enforcers should stay active and vigilant as traitors within their ranks will pounce on opportunities to conduct their illegal activities.
“They are not stopping so should we. We should continue what we have started and use what we have learned from our experiences from the last administration,” he said, referring to the Duterte administration’s relentless fight against illegal drugs.
The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chaired by Dela Rosa will invite law enforcers during an inquiry next year on the status of their internal cleansing and the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Meanwhile, PNP Spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the PNP and PDEA are investigating the matter, and are cooperating to ensure the harmonious relationship between both agencies to avoid any misencounter in the future.
“In case there are police operations involving PDEA agents, and police operations involving our police operatives, there will be a harmonious relationship between the two agencies and well at least prevent any misencounter between the two agencies,” Fajardo told ANC.
Fajardo likewise appealed to the public to continue trusting the country’s law enforcers as they are also reviewing their police strategies and operations to improve their ranks.
“We continue to appeal to the public to continue to trust the PNP, the PDEA and other law enforcement agency and this is the reason why we continue to recalibrate and review our police strategies and other operational thrusts,” she added.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. earlier issued a stern warning against law enforcers involved in illegal drugs.