A total of 83 policemen were dismissed from the service while 128 others were penalized for failure to attend court hearings on various cases filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) that include drugs charges in the past few years.
PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the penalties slapped against the policemen are proof that the disciplinary mechanisms in the police organization are in place.
"Our mandate as policemen does not end in arresting those who committed crimes. Part of our job is to attend court hearings especially if policemen are summoned by the court or if they are the arresting officers," said Eleazar.
"This only proves that we are serious in our reform program in the organization, these reforms include corrective measures and disciplinary measures against those who are not doing their job," he added.
Of the 83 dismissed from January 2020 to June 3, 2021, 10 of them were kicked out of the police service for failure to attend court hearings relating to drug cases. The rest are for various cases filed by the PNP.
A total of 31 policemen were also demoted, 92 were suspended, while five were reprimanded.
The report was submitted by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) in compliance with Eleazar's order early last week to account for all the dismissed cases filed by the PNP due to non-appearance of policemen in court hearings.
Based on the DIDM data, there are still 1,428 pending administrative cases being resolved for non-appearance in both drug and non-drug related cases.
“Effective law enforcement demands that criminal elements are not only arrested but are also punished through conviction. So policemen who can’t justify why they failed to appear in court to testify will definitely face administrative cases,” said Eleazar.
Eleazar said the imposition of penalties against the policemen who failed to attend court hearings only proved that mechanisms are in place in the PNP to hold accountable those who would fail to exercise their duty as police officers.
The PNP Chief also also ordered the DIDM to submit a report detailing the reasons why police personnel are failing to appear in court cases.
"We will find ways to correct these lapses in order to ensure that all our policemen would be able to attend court hearings. Their appearance in court is very important to ensure that those who were arrested for committing crimes are punished," said Eleazar.