President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted the resignation of 18 third-level officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs activities as recommended by the National Police Commission Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Tuesday.
Marcos said he would be accepting the resignation of “unscrupulous law enforcers and others involved in the highly nefarious drug trade.”
National Police Chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. informed Marcos that the Ad Hoc Advisory Group conducted a thorough investigation into the alleged involvement of 953 third-level officers in illegal drugs activities.
Acorda said the officers had tendered their courtesy resignation pending the investigation.
Of the 953, the NAPOLCOM recommended the non-acceptance of 935 courtesy resignations and the acceptance of the resignation of the following eighteen (18) officers:
- PBGEN Remus Balingasa Medina O-10038
- PBGEN Randy Quines Peralta O-05124
- PBGEN Pablo Gacayan Labra II O-03734
- PCOL Rogarth Bulalacao Campo O-08477
- PCOL Rommel Javier Ochave O-08085
- PCOL Rommel Allaga Velasco O-08084
- PCOL Robin King Sarmiento O-03552
- PCOL Fernando Reyes Ortega O-07478
- PCOL Rex Ordoño Derilo O-10549
- PCOL Julian Tesorero Olonan O-12395
- PCOL Rolando Tapon Portera O-07520
- PCOL Lawrence Bonifacio Cajipe O-12905
- PCOL Dario Milagrosa Menor O-07757
- PCOL Joel Kagayed Tampis O-08180
- PCOL Michael Arcillas David O-07686
- PCOL Igmedio Belonio Bernaldez O-12544
- PCOL Rodolfo Calope Albotra Jr O-08061
- PCOL Marvin Barba Sanchez O-08043
Acorda who is also an ex-officio commissioner of the NAPOLCOM said that the officials had been continuously being monitored.
He also said that the necessary “orders for their relief from their present positions would be immediately issued and the (resigned) officers will be assigned to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, DPRM (Directorate for Personnel and Records Management) to preclude them from exerting further influence and/or performing illegal activities using their positions.”
Upon assumption to office last year, Marcos vowed “to clean up the ranks of the PNP, saying that the drug problem would not exist without the involvement of police officials.”
In his SONA, Marcos also said that he would appoint individuals with unquestionable integrity to lead the government’s campaign against illegal drugs as he emphasized that his administration is putting “a new face” to the campaign.
“In their stead, we will install individuals with unquestionable integrity, who will be effective and trustworthy in handling the task of eliminating this dreaded and corrosive social curse. We cannot tolerate corruption or incompetence in government,” said Marcos.
He also strongly declared that the government “will relentlessly continue our fight against drug syndicates, shutting down their illegal activities. We will shut down their activities and dismantle their network of operations.”
