The nine police generals whom President Duterte mentioned in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) as allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade have already been dismissed from the service since 2016, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirmed Tuesday, July 27.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the issue about the concerned PNP generals has long been addressed as they were already axed from the service and investigated for their drug connections.
He said some of them were facing criminal charges in the court. However, Año did not identify the police generals.
Duterte, in his final SONA on Monday, said nine police generals were involved in the "business" of illegal drug trade in the country.
Further, Año also noted that administrative and criminal charges against the local government officials like governors and mayors have been filed for their supposed involvement in various illegal drug activities.
"Yan ang pagkakaiba, kung noong araw ang natatakot ang tao sa drug lords saka mga politicians na may koneksyon sa drug lord, ngayon baligtad. Sila na ang tinutugis natin at sila ang natatakot at nagtatago (That's the difference, if in the past people were terrified of the drug lords and politicians with connections with drug lords, now it is the other way around. They are now being hunted and they are now scared and in hiding),’’ Año said.
The DILG Chief further bared that the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice have already launched an investigation about Duterte's revelation that a police colonel has been illegally importing Russian-made AK-47 automatic rifles in the country.
Duterte said the police colonel, whom he called an "idiot," was behind the supposed importation of high-powered firearms that were used by armed groups and certain individuals for illegal activities.
"This policeman, I think, is still there. He was a colonel and he is still... Walang nangyari. At maraming sundalong namatay dahil sa mga armas na pinasok nila dito sa Pilipinas (Nothing happened. A lot of soldiers died because of the arms that entered the country)," he said.