P/Supt. Marlu Conag, Talisay City Police Station chief, arrives at the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. for his accomplishment presentation after President Duterte tagged Talisay City as a hotspot for illegal drugs during his visit in Cebu City last Tuesday. With Conag are members of the Regional Mobile Force Company (RMFC).
Cleansing starts after Duterte tagged law enforcers in Cebu as ‘addicts’
Two government agencies have vowed to cleanse their own ranks after President Duterte labeled Cebu’s law enforcers as “addicts.”
Both the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) vowed to remove rogue personnel and step up their
campaign against illegal drugs.
“What President Rodrigo Duterte announced was very alarming to us,” said Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, head of the Central Visayas police, on Wednesday.
“We will not justify it but instead conduct an investigation and relieve those police officers who are allegedly into the illegal drugs trade. The
President has more information than us,” he added. Sinas said they would reshuffle police officers in Cebu and conduct regular random drug tests among policemen.
Sinas said they would also come up with a report of non-compliant and erring policemen to the Philippine National Police’s Counter-Intelligence Task Force in Camp Crame for appropriate actions.
The PDEA-7, for its part, vowed to adopt “zero tolerance” on personnel who were involved in illegal drugs and compromise the integrity and credibility of the entire agency.
In a statement, the PDEA-7 said internal cleansing has always been one of their priorities.
“We acknowledge that it is an integral part in the effective performance of our mandate as the lead agency in the campaign against illegal drugs. The agency has in place ethical and firm mechanisms to govern the actions of our personnel, and this ensures that we maintain a high standard of service to the people,” the PDEA said.
“The President has expressed from the start his conviction to fight corruption and illegal drugs, and there will be no letup in our efforts to carry out the President’s marching order.”
During a speech before 200 municipal mayors from the Visayas on Tuesday night, President Duterte claimed that almost all of Cebu’s law enforcers — the police and the PDEA in particular — were involved in illegal drugs.
“Your policemen here in Cebu are addicts. Almost all, including their officials, are into drugs. Your PDEA here as well, even those holding high positions, even act as distributors of illegal drugs,” he said.
He warned them to stop their illegal operations or regret their actions.
Since last July 27, two PDEA-7 officers — Baby “Earl” Rallos and Von Rian Tecson — had been killed in separate ambushes in Cebu.
President Duterte also identified Talisay City, southern Cebu, as a hotbed of illegal drugs.
Supt. Marlu Conag, chief of the Talisay City Police Station, said the President’s pronouncement didn’t come as a surprise, saying the problem of illegal drugs was rampant in the city.
He, however, said they were doing their best to curb the problem.
“It’s but natural to be placed in the limelight especially that we conducted several anti-drug operations in the place recently,” Conag said. “People can expect more anti-drug operations in the city in the coming days,” he added.
Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas said both government officials and the police were doing everything to put an end to the narcotics trade in the city.
“I want to thank the President for being very frank in his speech. In fact, it inspires us to work more. I’m sure the President, before saying anything, may have his own estimate of the situation,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“I’m not denying that there is a problem on illegal drugs in Talisay. But the good thing is, there is a cooperation between the (local) government and the police to address it,” he added.
Since an augmentation force was sent by the PRO-7 to Talisay City, Gullas said at least 69 suspected drug users and an alleged drug peddler had been arrested in Barangay Tangke, which had been identified as the most drug-infested village in the city.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for his part, believed that not everyone in the police organization was into illegal drugs.
“There’s a mistaken notion that an institution is a person. An institution is not a person. It does not have a personality. There are some (policemen) who are good, while some are bad,” said Osmeña.
“Of course, it is affecting everything. It is affecting the (trust of the public towards the police),” he added.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said President Duterte did the right thing in announcing the alleged involvement of law enforcers in illegal drugs to drive home a point and at the same time warn those involved in the illegal drugs trade.
“What he said was fair to me. You know President Duterte. Having been a mayor of Davao City, he knows the different sorts of policemen. Maybe, he (Duterte) has sources that we don’t have,” he said in an interview.
“The President did the right thing in announcing what he feels so that our policemen will be mindful of their actions,” he added. /with reports from Morexette Marie B. Erram, Jessa Mae O. Sotto
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