President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday night publicly named suspended and dismissed personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) due to alleged involvement in corrupt practices.
Pres. Duterte disclosed that among those reportedly were people receiving bribes in exchange for the freedom or absolution of some drug suspects.
“If you are bribing or you are in the take that you can be bribed, you should not be there in the service at all,” he stressed.
“Those policemen, PNP, na ang mga kasalanan itong related sa drugs pati itong pera (Those policemen whose offenses are related to drugs, money, and) malversation, there’s only one penalty there: They should not be in government. They should be out in the streets,” he pointed out.
He also ordered the PDEA to create a list of dismissed elements of law enforcement, convinced that they will find ways to get back to unlawful acts.
“Sigurado ako na gagawa ito ng milagro (I am sure that they will make miracles) to continue with this nefarious activity. So, bantayan ito sila (they have to be monitored). There must be a team dedicated to watch only these guys who were dismissed from the service,” he ordered.
The president reiterated that he would dedicate his remaining time in office to combat corruption. However, he said it is “impossible and cannot really be achievable” to entirely clean the bureaucracy.
– Report from Mela Lesmoras
