MANILA — A police chief in Quezon City has been relieved from his post after one his men tested positive for drugs in a surprise drug test conducted in Camp Karingal.
In a statement Tuesday, the Quezon City Police Department said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Dir. Oscar D. Albayalde has approved the recommendation of Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar, for the relief of Supt. Tomas Nuñez, Station Commander of the Fairview Police Station.
The relief came after PO1 Gabby Tumaliuan Bulan, assigned at the Station Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) of Fairview Police Station, tested positive for illegal drug use.
SDEU head Sr. Insp. Danilo Songalia, was also relieved from his post.
The report from the QCPD Crime Laboratory confirmed that Bulan was positive for illegal drug use after a confirmatory test.
As a standard procedure, Bulan was transferred to the District Headquarters Support Unit (DHSU) and is now under restrictive custody. He was also ordered to turn in his badge, PNP ID and service firearm pending administrative and criminal investigation.
Bulan is among the 331 personnel who were subjected to a surprise drug test on February 19.
This is part of the regular program of QCPD, especially for its anti-drug personnel, to ensure that they are compliant with their mandate. In fact, a seminar on the PNP manual on Anti-Illegal Drugs Operations and Investigation was conducted last Jan. 29 to refresh the operatives on latest directives.
A stress management seminar was also held on Feb. 21 and 22 to help them overcome the rigors of anti-illegal drug operations. Also, a Life With Christ Seminar was initiated on Feb. 23, 2018 for moral enhancement.
“Bilang mga drug busters, kailangan na sila mismo ay maging ehemplo. Hindi pwede na sila yung manghuhuli sa mga involved sa illegal drugs, tapos sila mismo ay gumagamit pala. At kailanman ay hindi natin ito-tolerate ang mga ganitong gawain, sapagkat paano tayo pagkakatiwalaan ng publiko kung may mga kasamahan tayong involved sa illegal drugs (As drug busters, they must serve as a good example. They cannot catch drug suspects if they are drug users too. We will never tolerate this kind of activities. How will the public trust us if we have colleagues who are involved in illegal drugs?). The relief of the station commander should also serve as a reminder to all other officers especially those assigned in anti-illegal drug units to be always vigilant over their personnel,” Eleazar said.
This move comes after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sacked 21 erring members of its regional office in Calabarzon following their alleged involvement in illegal arrests and extortion activities, a move which was lauded by PNP Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa.
“Kung ang PNP merong internal cleansing program, dapat ang PDEA meron din dahil hindi naman lahat ng tao nila doon mga santo. Meron din mga tao na magkakamali din kaya tama yung ginagawa (If the PNP has an internal cleansing program, PDEA should also have one because not all of their people are saints. There are those who are erring so this move is just right). The action of (PDEA) General Aaron Aquino is laudable. I support him in that action na dapat talaga kailangan natin ng mga (that calls for) sweep and decisive move para to cleanse our ranks. That’s a very good move,” dela Rosa said. (PNA)
