Napolcom: Police need to regroup, rethink role in war on drugs

Napolcom regional director Homer Cabaral called on police not to be demoralized and instead reassess their role in the campaign against illegal drugs.

THE country’s police force should not be discouraged by their withdrawal from the government’s anti-drug operations, the regional chief of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) said yesterday.

Rather, Napolcom regional director Homer Cabaral told the police during yesterday’s 26th Philippine National Police Foundation Day observance, that they should “step back, analyze their performance and regroup” to win back public trust.

“Just like in any other organization, there will always be problems and turbulence encountered by the PNP organization as we cruise towards the path of public service. Let not these bad issues and challenges dishearten and demoralize you,” he said.

Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office chief, said the PRO-7 performed well in the government’s war on drugs before they were sidelined by the murder of a Korean businessman by rogue policemen in Camp Crame.

Taliño vowed to help clean the PNP by going after errant policemen in the region.

Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, PRO-7 director, (right) says they are committed to weeding out the corrupt police officers within their ranks.
CDN Photos/Lito Tecson

“We will strengthen our counter-intelligence efforts in monitoring cops involved in illegal activities or irregularities,” he said.

Since the PNP was created in 1991, Cabaral said the organization has its share of “birth pains” ranging from corruption, budget allocations, logistics, lack of personnel, human rights violations and adverse public opinion.

“The (Korean businessman’s murder) was indicative of the diminishing public trust and confidence in the police and the criminal justice system. These were realities that reduce the PNP’s effectiveness to work with the community,” he said.

Cabaral said police scalawags continue to tarnish the image of the PNP.

“In fact, President Duterte pronounced that 40 percent of the 165,000 PNP officers and personnel are used to corruption or involved in illegal activities,” he said.

Cabaral said lifestyle checks and redeployment of police personnel should be done to purge out corrupt cops.