Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año commended Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa for “having the courage” to resolve the issue of narcocops in the police organization as part of the sustained internal cleansing campaign of the PNP.
“I commend PNP Chief Gamboa for having the courage in resolving this issue na matagal ng burden ng PNP. We need to deal with this para makapagtrabaho na nang matino ang ating mga pulis,” he said.
Gamboa met with most of the 357 policemen recently and explained to them the process of the two-way adjudication to be initiated based on his request to the President.
The process involves adjudication at the regional and directorial level for one week before the cases go to the national level which will handle the cases for three weeks. Once all the cases are submitted to the Office of the Chief PNP, it will take three days for him to submit the results of the adjudication to the President for approval.
The PNP also gave the 357 cops a chance to file for optional retirement to spare the PNP from more cases for adjudication. But Año pointed out that optional retirement will not exonerate them from criminal charges if the adjudication will prove their guilt of being involved in illegal drugs.
The DILG chief urged the 357 cops included in the Narcolist to present pieces of evidence that will vindicate and remove them in the said list.
“Patunayan nilang wala silang kaugnayan sa iligal na droga. Nasa kanila ang burden of proof, iprisinta nila ang mga ebidensya na magpapatunay na wala silang kinalaman at kaugnayan sa iligal na droga,” Año said.
The narcolist is a consolidation of intelligence and other reports from law-enforcement agencies and still needs to be verified and validated. Aside from uniformed personnel, the list also includes local officials and judges as well as other personalities.
He said that the 357 cops must present evidence to clear their name of drug links from the four agencies handling illegal drug reports — the PNP, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“Hanggang hindi nagkakaroon ng pagkakasundo ang apat na ahensyang ito, hangga’t hindi nila sinasabi ng ‘Okay na yan’, magpapatuloy ang imbestigasyon,” he said.
Once a complaint is filed, it can be validated as fast as a month, Año said. Those in the Narcolist only have to go to the agency which reported them and present evidence refuting their accusers.
He challenged accused policemen to show “their resolve and commitment to the anti-drug war by actions,” such as leading raids on drug dens and syndicates.
Still, the DILG Secretary said, the final clearance will come from the President. “Gusto nating maparusahan ang mga may kaugnayan sa iligal na droga” he added.
