NCRPO chief told: Explain ‘shabu cop’

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police has ordered National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) officials to explain why a policeman who was reportedly engaged in reselling seized drugs remained on active duty until his arrest, an official said yesterday.

Police Officer 2 Jolly Aliangan, whose home was described in television reports as fit for a general, is assigned at the NCRPO Regional Anti-Illegal Drug (RAID) unit.

He was nabbed by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents who received information that a police officer from the NCRPO was moving seized drugs from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

“On the part of the PNP, if there is a failure in counter-intelligence, the person who failed to do his job should be made to suffer the consequences,” said PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor.

“So let the superiors in the NCRPO explain why despite the activities of their person he remains to be in that particular unit,” he added.

Mayor said the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) will initiate action against the NCRPO, headed by Chief Superintendent Joel Pagdilao, and Aliangan’s immediate superior, RAID head Chief Inspector Robert Razon.

The NBI raided Aliangan’s three-story home in Sampaloc, Manila on Wednesday, confiscating P6.9 million stashed in a vault, around 300 grams of shabu, drug paraphernalia, unlicensed high-powered firearms hidden in a small armory under the stairs of the house and a fake car license plate.

The NBI will also investigate Aliangan’s wife, Ronalie, after she reportedly flushed down some of the shabu in the toilet.

Aliangan denied the allegations, insisting he was framed.

Ronalie tested positive for shabu while her husband and his cousin, Jeffrey Gutierrez, were negative.

Mayor said it would be hard to explain how Aliangan was able to acquire these items on his monthly salary of P23,000.

The NBI has filed charges for selling and possessing illegal drugs and illegal possession of firearms against Aliangan, his wife and Gutierrez, reportedly a civilian agent of the NCRPO.

Pagdilao orders dismissal proceedings

Pagdilao ordered the conduct of summary dismissal proceedings against Aliangan, saying “he should be dismissed immediately to serve as a warning to other policemen.”

He also ordered Razon to explain why he was not able to rein in Aliangan, who was accused of being behind the proliferation of shabu in Sampaloc and neighboring areas. Aliangan was assigned at the Manila Police District before he joined the NCRPO’s anti-drug unit on Dec. 2, 2015. – With Ghio Ong, Non Alquitran