HEEDING the call of Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., top cop Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and other members of the PNP’s “command group” yesterday tendered their courtesy resignations to pave the way for the removal of officers involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Azurin’s group made the move a day after Abalos appealed to all generals and colonels or third level officers of the PNP to submit their courtesy resignations to cleanse the ranks of the PNP.
The PNP command group headed by Azurin has as its members Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia (PNP deputy chief for administration), Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos (PNP deputy chief for operations), and Lt. Gen. Michael John Dubria, (chief of the Directorial Staff).
“All of us, (members of) the command group, we already submitted (our courtesy resignations),” Azurin told a press conference at Camp Crame, adding Sermonia was the first to submit his courtesy resignation, ahead of him.
Azurin said the PNP target is for all the generals and colonels to complete the submission of their courtesy resignations “not later than January 31.”
PNP spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo said Azurin and the other members of the command group submitted their courtesy resignations before the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.
Fajardo said she has no available information as to how many generals and colonels have submitted their courtesy resignations as of yesterday.
Several police commanders, including National Capital Region Police chief Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, have signified their commitments to submit courtesy resignations.
Azurin said some generals and colonels who attended a command conference last Wednesday committed to submit their courtesy resignation.
But some, Azurin added, initially declared they were not going to tender their resignations for “personal” reasons.
“This is their bread and butter; this is their career. They said ‘as if we’ve done nothing for the last 30 years.’ But I told them, it’s our organization that is on trial here,” he said, referring to allegations the PNP, in general, is involved in illegal drugs.
“We should first clear our organization and then the individual interest will follow and then our family where we draw our strength and our inspiration will also follow,” Azurin said.
Azurin said there are “less than 10” generals and colonels in the active service who are supposedly involved in illegal drugs but did not name them. He said an investigation is ongoing against them.
Asked if he had talked to these officers, Azurin said: “We already communicated to everyone, to all the commanders. Definitely, they already know that they are being requested, they are being challenged to submit (their courtesy resignations) and if I were them, I will submit myself to end this.”
Abalos issued his appeal after a probe on the seizure of nearly a ton of shabu and the arrest of a policeman in Manila last year.
Last October 8, police operatives arrested a drug dealer, Ney Saligumba Atadero, during a buy-bust operation. He later led the policemen to a lending firm in Manila where 990 kilos of shabu, worth P6.7 billion, was found.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr., assigned with the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, who allegedly owned the lending firm. Mayo yielded two kilos of shabu worth P13.6 million.
Abalos said there are around 300 generals and colonels in the PNP. Yesterday, the PNP clarified that it has 956 colonels and generals — one General (Azurin), eight Lieutenant Generals, 21 Major Generals, 114 Brig. Generals and 812 Colonels.
Azurin admitted that some officials were disappointed by Abalos’ call, saying they don’t have to resign because they have done nothing wrong.
“That is the negative view. I said this is more about pride. On the other hand, I say this is a very nice opportunity for every leader at the highest level, third level, to once and for all clear our respective names, regain moral ground, without any question of our past,” said Azurin.
Once submitted, the courtesy resignations of the generals and colonels will be screened by a committee that will be composed of five individuals from various sectors.
Azurin said the PNP has submitted to President Marcos Jr. a total of 22 candidates for the committee. He said the President may consider others outside the list.
Asked how fast the committee can act on the courtesy resignations, Azurin said he is not certain. He said the committee will recommend to the President who among generals and colonels would be allowed to go.
“At first, it would look unfair but to me this is an opportunity for the PNP to once and for all stop malicious accusations against all PNP personnel, especially the third level officers,” Azurin said.
Azurin, however, stressed that generals and colonels are not compelled to submit their courtesy resignations.
Asked what action the PNP will take against officers who will not tender their courtesy resignations, Azurin said: “We have a next process…Let them discern if they are willing to be subjected (to the current process).
“If you know you are not involved (in illegal drugs), why not submit. If you are confident that you never involved yourself (in illegal drugs) and you are not going to submit, that’s pride,” he said.
“This is more a test of character, of our morality. So, what are you going to choose, morality or pride? It’s up to you, it’s up to the individual. That’s why I am always saying organizational interest should always take precedence over individual interest,” added Azurin.
Pressed if the officers involved in illegal drugs will not submit their courtesy resignations, Azurin said: “We’ll cross the bridge when we get there, we will wait. Let us not jump into another activity or another solution that will be undertaken by the PNP. But definitely, we have a process.”
Azurin said officers whose resignations will be approved for involvement in illegal drugs will be considered retired and will still receive their retirement pay and benefits.
While charges may be filed against them, Azurin said these officers are still entitled to benefits because it will take a while before they could be convicted.
Asked why they are not naming the 10 generals and colonels involved in illegal drugs, Azurin said: “That’s why we’re creating a five-man committee because we want also to protect the third level officers who are involved.”
Azurin said the PNP supports Abalos’ “fervent desire to cleanse the ranks of the PNP from misfits, especially those who are involved in illegal drugs.
“We, in the uniformed service, are trained and prepared and are expected to prioritize public service over personal interests,” said Azurin.
“Similarly, I support and uphold the guidance of our beloved President Ferdinand R. Marcos to every policeman to keep our integrity untainted and to do our best to uphold the moral ascendancy of the PNP and to ensure the continuity of public rapport,” he added.
Azurin said Abalos’ call “is a wakeup call to all PNP members, to reflect on how and what has happened in our respective careers.
Azurin said the process is “more of a moral challenge rather than a legal battle,” adding the process should be “objective, impartial, judicious, and fair.
“We demand as well that the proceedings be made apolitical, and that personal issues and biases be set aside for a more acceptable outcome,” he said.
He said all the 956 generals and colonels of the PNP should have the courage to undergo the process and “not put the organization in disarray and, as officers and gentlemen, let us be guided by the wisdom of our leader.”
Azurin also announced that he will initiate the restructuring of the Internal Service (IAS), Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Group that he said are the “frontrunners in our fight against illegal drugs and internal cleansing.
“And to give more teeth to our disciplinary machinery, our processes in IAS must be further improved to pave (the) way to a speedier disposition of cases,” said Azurin.
Azurin disclosed that IAS Director General Alfegar Triambulo will also tender his courtesy resignation. Triambulo is a lawyer and not a police officer.
Azurin said the said three units should be “more aggressive and proactive to support the PNP’s thrust on internal cleansing.
“A stronger vetting process among personnel of these units and among all key positions in the PNP will be implemented with strong resolve. Similarly, our counterintelligence efforts must all the more (be) stepped-up to protect the integrity of all police undertakings,” said Azurin.
A PLOY?
At the House, Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) said Abalos’ call for the resignation of police generals involved in drugs could be a ploy to divert public attention from other pressing issues such as the NAIA fiasco.
“The call of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos for all full police colonels and generals of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to submit their courtesy resignations is a distraction from pressing issues and a half-baked response to the clamor for accountability over the bloody war on drugs,” she said.
The militant lawmaker pointed out that the announcement was made amid “raging public interest issues such as the Philippine airspace outage, mass transport woes in the metro, and New Year spike in prices of goods and services including the water rate hike implemented by Maynilad and Manila Water.”
If the Marcos administration really wants to cleanse the PNP of the drug problem, Brosas said it must pursue the filing of charges against erring cops instead of pushing for the approval of the free legal assistance bill for uniformed personnel.
She said the government should finally open the doors for the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to rights violations committed in the conduct of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
“Otherwise, such a move would just be a lame media theatric,” Brosas said.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, however, threw his full support behind Abalos’ initiative.
“As chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, I am in full support of DILG Secretary Abalos’ call to ‘cleanse’ the ranks of senior police officers who may have been ‘infected’ or involved in the illegal drug trade,” he said.
Barbers said although there is still no concrete evidence that directly links senior police officers to the drug trade, it is widely rumored or said to be an “open secret.” — With Wendell Vigilia
