The task of weeding out senior officials allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade from the Philippine National Police (PNP) is expected to be over in three months as the five-man advisory body tasked to carry out the job held its first meeting.
PNP chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., who is also a member of the committee, said the body, whose members include lawyer and former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and retired police general and current Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, was scheduled to meet Monday to come up with its own rules on to how it would conduct the screening and assessment.
Earlier, the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. asked police officials from the ranks of colonel and up to submit their voluntary resignations and allow themselves to be subjected to assessments and background investigations in the PNP’s own internal campaign to cleanse itself from officials with links to illegal drugs.
All the officials were given until the end of last month to tender their courtesy resignations.
During a news briefing on Monday, Azurin said he and all the members of the panel would meet this week to formulate and review their guidelines in conducting the investigation before the committee, which he will preside, to officially start with its assessments.
“We will already discuss the ‘house rules’ that we will use in the evaluation and assessments of our third level officers, and in the same manner, part of the discussion will also be on how we intend to finish the job in less than three months,” he said.
The PNP chief said he had already come up with a draft on the scope, limitations and guidelines of the screening and evaluation, but still the other members could make recommendations of their own.
He said among the issues that they would be looking into during their assessments are the cases involving senior officials in the anti-illegal drugs campaign and the assets of senior police officials.
The results of the panel’s screening will be forwarded to the National Police Commission, which will also conduct its own evaluation before forwarding it to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who will decide whether he would accept or deny the resignations.
Both Azurin and Abalos earlier defended the call for senior officials to tender their voluntary resignations, calling it as a “drastic move” to weed out officials with alleged links to illegal drugs.