PNP chief: 2019 a ‘difficult’ year

MANILA, Philippines — After a tumultuous 2019 that saw a Philippine National Police chief go into early retirement over corruption allegations, PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said yesterday the police force has slowly gained back the public’s trust.

Gamboa took over the PNP’s top post on Oct. 14, the day Oscar Albayalde went on off-duty status after weeks of controversy due to Senate hearings on the issue of him leading a team of “ninja cops,” local slang for police officers who recycle illegal drugs seized in legitimate operations.

He described the last quarter of the year as a “difficult” time for the PNP.

“We admit we faltered and that’s why I had a very great challenge ahead of me on how we can regain the public’s trust,” he told reporters.

Gamboa said since he became officer-in-charge of the PNP, he believes the police force is slowly regaining the public’s trust and “we always emphasize that the  internal cleansing” of the 190,000-strong police force continues.

He noted that in the past two months, nearly 90 personnel – an average of two per day – were dismissed from the service.

Gamboa said the PNP is testing various administrative reforms to ensure better internal cleansing, operative effectiveness and efficiency.

He said the PNP is working on purchasing 3,000 body cameras as the answer to the public’s demand for transparency in police operations following allegations of abuses and extrajudicial killings.

Gamboa said the PNP is still ordering police officers to immediately neutralize all threats that could lead to armed encounters. 

Over 6,000 drug suspects were killed in “legitimate” police operations in the Duterte administration, prompting allegations of human rights abuse.