Eleazar signs dismissal of police 'fixer' in PNP recruitment
Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has approved the dismissal of a police sergeant who was arrested twice for collecting huge sums of money from police applicants in exchange for easy entry into the police organization.
Eleazar said the dismissal of Police Staff Sergeant Joel Zalun Bunagan, assigned to the PNP Health Service, took effect on June 14. Bunagan is also facing separate criminal charges.
Bunagan was arrested by operatives of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) in an entrapment operation in Barangay 175 Camarin, Caloocan City last May 31, where he demanded P100,000 from a police applicant supposedly in exchange for facilitating his entry into the PNP.
Bunagan was out on bail at the time of the arrest. Records show that Bunagan was previously arrested in an entrapment operation in Barangay Kaligayahan, Novaliches, Quezon City also by IMEG operatives for the same offense in April last year.
Eleazar said. Bunagan is facing several criminal charges in court including violation of Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Act of 2018 and of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
"I personally monitored the progress of this case to send a message that I am serious in reforming the PNP," said Eleazar.
He also warned Bunagan’s cohorts and other PNP personnel involved in this kind of illegal activity that he would not stop until they are all removed from the organization.