Cop arrested for cocaine in upscale Taguig nightclub

MANILA, Philippines — A police officer from the Manila Police District was arrested on Wednesday night for drug possession at a night club in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

PO1 Redentor Bautista, 34, of Tondo, Manila, was arrested by Taguig police at The Island Palace Club at around 11:45 p.m.

According to a statement released by the Philippine National Police, they confiscated a plastic ziplock sachet containing a white substance suspected to be cocaine weighing less than .4 grams, and a small cut straw from PO1 Bautista.

"The PNP does not tolerate any irregularities of its members and has zero tolerance and no compromise on our personnel involved in illegal drugs," Senior Superintendent Eliseo dela Cruz, acting Southern Police District director, said in a statement. "They will suffer the full consequence of their actions and have no reason to stay as members of our organization," he added.

Director Guillermo Eleazar, National Capital Region Police Office chief, assured the public that the erring officer would be dismissed after undergoing "due process." 

Eleazar said, "no sacred cows to these [sic] people who are using drugs and to those who are selling, especially that they are uniformed personnel." 

According to police, Bautista was brought to the BGC police station before being turned over to the Station Drug Enforcement Unit, where he was tested for drugs. The suspect will be charge with violating RA 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act. 

Last June, PNP Director General Oscar Ayabalde ordered police officers to undergo random drug tests after a member of the elite Special Action Force tested positive for shabu. 

READ: Albayalde orders random drug tests for cops

The PNP —  the lead agency in the administration's war on drugs — has come under fire again recently after the daughter of drug suspect accused a police officer of rape. The victim said PO1 Eduardo Valencia, also from the MPD, brought her to a motel and raped her in exchange for her parents' freedom. 

According to a report published by the Center for Women's Resources, at least 33 cases of violence against women by police officers have been documented since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016.