MANILA, Philippine (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to arrest corrupt and abusive policemen, saying that the culture of corruption in the current Philippine National Police was “very serious.”
He said he personally would reorganize the police force, addressing newly promoted generals in Malacanang on Tuesday, January 31.
“Let me reorganize the enforcement diyan sa drugs sa police. In the meantime, they would be arrested and I will order you to arrest them,” he said.
He said that “no policemen in this country anywhere is allowed to enforce laws related to the drug campaign.”
The President said scalawag policemen had been using the government’s war on drugs to extort money and commit various crimes, the most recent and most controversial of which is the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo.
He noted the previous abuses made by policemen using search warrants, to commit abuses.
“Kasi magamit nila ’yang, palitan nila ‘yang warrant, palitan lang ang pangalan tapos pupunta (Because they can just use and change the names in the [arrest or search] warrant, and then they will go),” Duterte said
The President said that there are about 6,000 policemen who are involved in illegal drugs, and he therefore needed the military to help look for these abusive policemen.
“Kung hindi ko kayo ipasok sa laro, patay ako. Walang magtingin diyan sa abusadong pulis (If I don’t involve you in this game, I am doomed. Nobody will check these abusive policemen),” he said.
“The culture of corruption sa pulis, matindi (is very serious),” said the President who before the scandal involving the kidnap-slay of Korean national Jee Ick-Joo had been very supportive of policemen
The President said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo would be going to Seoul to personally extend the apologies of the Philippine government to the South Korean government.
“I told him (Panelo) to make a good apology. We can’t do anything. It happened. Ang pinakabastos sa lahat, ang masakit daw sa kanila is talagang ‘yung flushing (the Korean’s ashes) down the drain the toilet bowl,” the president said.
“Nasaktan sila. Maski naman gawain sa atin ‘yan,” he said.
The President halted the PNP’s anti-drug operations after the scandalous involvement of some members of the PNP-Anti Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) in the abduction and killing of Jee Ick Joo, a business executive who had been living in the country for the last 10 years.
The PNP-AIDG men who were tagged in the crime were SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, SPO4 Roy Villegas, and their immediate superior Supt. Rafael Dumlao, as well as two other alleged accomplices.
After news of the cops’ involvement came out, PNP chief director general Ronald Dela Rosa expressed deep shame and regret that this is happening to the police, especially as the alleged killing of the Korean happened right inside the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
A very disappointed President Duterte later announced in a late Sunday night press conference that he will be suspending from then on the anti-drug operations of the police, and ordered the abolition of all PNP anti-illegal drug units. He directed the PNP to do its internal cleansing first, and ordered the PNP chief to submit to him a list of all policemen who have been involved in crimes, or had been charged for murder.
