477 cops dismissed for drug-related offenses

MANILA, Philippines — At least 477 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were kicked out of the service after they were found to be involved in illegal drugs.

Data from the PNP showed 12 police officers, 455 non-commissioned officers and 10 non-uniformed personnel were dismissed from the service after they were found dipping their hands in narcotics.

At least 106 of them, including “ninja cops” who recycle narcotics seized during police operations, were said to have directly taken part in the drug trade. A total of 371 were dismissed after testing positive for illegal drugs, a grave offense in the PNP, which has intensified its internal cleansing measures to weed out scalawags.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said at a press briefing yesterday they are monitoring 22 ninja cops who are still in the active service. The police officers, including a major and two lieutenants, remain under surveillance even if they have lain low in their illegal activities.

Banac said the number does not include the 13 policemen who were accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade and allegedly coddled by former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde.

Except for saying that the ninja cops are assigned in Metro Manila, Central Visayas, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula, Banac refused to give other details.

Meanwhile, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza claimed during a hearing of the House of Representatives committee on ways and means yesterday that illegal drugs and other prohibited products continue to enter the country, with some shipments even passing through the Bureau of Customs (BOC)’s fast lanes without scrutiny.

He said the unabated “smuggling deprives the government of hundreds of billions of pesos in revenue every year.”

“Containers filled with tons of illegal drugs and other contraband and luxury items continue to enter our ports, many of them even enjoy the privilege of using the ‘green lanes’ or fast lanes to facilitate their entry,” he added, noting that BOC officials have admitted that the agency inspects only 20 to 25 percent of the roughly 12,000 containers entering the country each day.  

“This means 75 percent to 80 percent of containers are not even opened. So what is the basis for computing the taxes importers are supposed to pay?” asked the former Manila mayor who has filed a bill to amend the Customs and Tariff Modernization law to require pre-shipment inspection of all imports at the port of origin.

The ways and means committee decided to consolidate his proposed amendment with other related measures.

Atienza said the mandatory inspection and clearance of all container vans before leaving their ports of origin “will remove all personal and discretionary assessment done by Customs personnel at the shipments’ points of entry here.”          

“That is where corruption enters the picture. This is the biggest problem that we must address squarely. If we require mandatory pre-shipment inspection, we can be sure that the right amount of taxes will be collected and the entry of illegal drugs and other contraband will stop,” he added.            

To him, the continued entry of illegal substances through the country’s ports frustrates President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs.

“The Aquino administration never touched nor implemented it. When the Duterte administration came in, we expected that it would be implemented, but until now, nothing has changed after three years. Obviously, the Department of Finance is not keen on its implementation. This is why we have this bill making inspection at ports of origin mandatory,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the ways and means committee required the BOC to explain its collection shortfall.  – With Jess Diaz