16 Cebu ‘rogue’ cops put on floating status
Policemen in Cebu City prepare for deployment in their respective areas. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
As part of the internal cleansing, at least 16 policemen in the province of Cebu were relieved from their posts over their alleged involvement in illegal activities.
Senior Supt. Eric Noble, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, said they received reports that the 16 policemen with ranks ranging from police officer 1 (PO1) to senior police officer 1 (SPO1) were either into illegal drugs or gambling.
They are currently placed at the Police Holding and Accounting Unit of the provincial police pending an investigation.
“I’d rather relieve them from their posts instead of I getting questioned by our higher-ups,” Noble told reporters yesterday.
The 16 policemen who were relieved from their posts will undergo an intervention program, including spiritual counseling.
Noble, however, did not reveal the cops’ names while an investigation is being conducted.
“I hope their way of thinking will also be realigned,” he said.
Last month, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa put on hold the police war on drugs to focus on cleaning the PNP ranks as allegations of a highly corrupt police force continued to haunt the PNP.
On orders of President Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa also disbanded the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) following the death of Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo at the hands of rogue policemen inside Camp Crame.
In the guise of a drug operation, Jee was taken from his home in Angeles, Pampanga last October 18, 2016 by members of the PNP Anti-Illegal aDrugs Group. It was later revealed that the businessman was killed inside the police headquarters in Camp Crame on the same day of his kidnapping. His wife paid P5 million for his ransom after she was made to believe that Jee was still alive.
Dela Rosa said the PNP will form a counter-intelligence task force against rogue cops, adding that he instructed various units to consolidate efforts and come up with a list of police scalawags.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
