Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday, December 13 urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to embark on an internal cleansing process to rid its ranks of scalawags in uniform.
Dela Rosa made the call after his privilege speech where he noted how drug syndicates re-emerged under a different administration.
“I am encouraging the PNP, not only the PNP, but also all law enforcement agencies, including the PDEA and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to embark on thorough internal cleansing process,” Dela Rosa said in an interview with reporters.
“Linisin nila ang kanilang hanay kung may nakikita silang scalawag (They should cleanse their ranks if they see any scalawags),” he further said.
In his privilege speech on Monday, Dela Rosa raised as an example the arrest of a PDEA officer and agents caught with a kilo of shabu in Taguig, and the case of a member of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) who was arrested and led to the confiscation of P6.7-billion worth of shabu in Manila.
Ever since President Rodrigo Duterte stepped down from power, the former PNP chief noted that drug syndicates have returned with a vengeance.
“Talagang balik sila, dahil wala na si President Duterte, wala na ang kinatatakutan nila (They have returned because President Duterte is no longer in power. The one whom they feared is no longer in power),” he pointed out.
Asked if the PNP should re-impose its “one-strike” policy against its erring officials, the senator said “I don’t want to dictate on them but they should study that.”
He said Duterte is also aware of the problem and has expressed his disappointment on the recent developments.
“He (Duterte) doesn’t want to interfere how this government is running its own show...he was just expressing his concern that so-called ‘ninja cops’, narco-politicians have reemerged,” Dela Rosa said.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, the senator said he is concerned at the performance of the PNP, PDEA and other law enforcement agencies.
“They are doing their job, but let’s put some more effort. So that the fear factor that was present during the Duterte administration, which was not sustained by the present administration, can be compensated through their efforts,” he pointed out.
Dela Rosa said there is no time for the PNP to be complacent.
“The slightest distraction that we commit, these traitors among our ranks will grab all the opportunities to enrich themselves even though this would entail the destruction of lives, theirs included,” the senator said in his speech.