20 Bacolod cops axed for illegal activities

CEBU, Philippines — The Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) internal cleansing has started and 20 members of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) were relieved from their posts after reports of their alleged involvement in illegal activities has reached the PRO-6 hierarchy.

Of the 20, eighteen are police non-commissioned officers (PNCOs) or those with ranks of senior police officer 4 (SPO4) and lower, one PCO or someone with a rank of police inspector and higher, and one non-uniformed  personnel (NUP).

But Superintendent Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson, declined to name the personnel, who were immediately told to report to the regional headquarters at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City. She said they will still be subjected for investigation and, once probable cause will be established, they would be charged accordingly.

Malong said the order was signed May 31, when Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag was still PRO-6 chief. The order was issued June 1 but was implemented BCPO on June 6. They were immediately relieved from post and told to report to PRO-6 headquarters at Camp Martin Delgado, Iloilo City.

"This is part of our internal cleansing efforts. There was already an initial investigation done on them. While further investigation is being conducted, it is better that they should be taken out from their assignment," said Malong. "Once investigation would show that they are not involved in illegal activities, they would be reassigned back to their unit," she added.

Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, BCPO spokesperson, yesterday said the relief of 20 personnel forms part of the intensive cleansing of the PNP, under the guidance of PNP Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde regarding internal reforms and organizational discipline.

Vargas said it was also part of the PNP standard operating procedure so that investigation conducted against them will not be influenced. She added that policemen who have poor performance will be likewise sanctioned, but good deeds and exemplary performance will be acknowledged and recognized. Further, she enjoined the public to provide information about illegal activities and abuses of BCPO personnel.

Immediately after their relief of BCPO personnel, newly-installed PRO-6 OIC Regional Director, Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao ordered the conduct of random drug test among the 20, as well as 29 others in the unit, eight from PRO-6 headquarters, and one from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

On the first day of his assumption of office, Bulalacao said policemen should not go to gambling dens like casinos and cockpits. Two days after, four policemen were ordered to report to his office after they were caught betting in a cockfight, as evidenced in photos, from the intelligence unit, showing them inside a cockpit.

Bulalacao has earlier reiterated the guidance against going to gambling dens and moonlighting. It doesn't matter if policemen are on off duty or not in uniform because "they are not allowed in any gambling dens," he said.

Bulalacao said he will focus his efforts on "internal cleansing," as several policemen in the region had been reportedly linked to illegal drugs.

In Negros Occidental, 80 policemen, excluding those at the BCPO, had been linked to illegal drugs, 50 percent of whom were already re-assigned to other areas in the country, and the rest still being monitored, with allegations against them still pending for validation. — Gilbert P. Bayoran