DILG chief bent on punishing police scalawags

MANILA, Philippines — Police scalawags better change their ways as Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año is bent on punishing misfits in the Philippine National Police (PNP) who have hindered the government’s efforts to curb the illegal drug trade and other crimes.

Año, recently tasked by President Duterte to fix the PNP which has been saddled by corruption, said he would implement measures to ensure that scalawags in the police organization are kicked out of the service.

“We are looking at weeding out the scalawags. This is what’s affecting the performance and image of the PNP organization,” he said.

Duterte has been displeased with reports of “ninja cops” or police officers involved in the recycling of prohibited drugs, specifically the controversy which hounded former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde last year.

To achieve this goal, Año will strengthen the capabilities of the police Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG), the unit tasked to run after police scalawags; and the Internal Affairs Service (IAS), which implements disciplinary sanctions on erring police personnel.

“We will strengthen the IMEG and IAS to make sure we catch these people,” he said.

At least 11,197 police officers were sanctioned for various administrative offenses since Duterte took office in July 2016. Of the number, 3,280 were dismissed from the service for grave misconduct.

Año also wants police officers to be physically fit to help improve the image of the police force.

“If you see them physically fit, it commands already some respect,” he said.

The DILG chief will likewise review the strategies by the police to determine if there is a need for improvement in the campaign against illegal drugs and other forms of criminality.

Año vowed to modernize the PNP through the procurement of additional equipment, saying policemen should have more advanced weapons than members of organized crime syndicates.