Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnie Teves said the "short cut" taken by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in cleansing the Philippine National Police (PNP) was "improper".
“I am in full support of cleansing government agencies of undesirables, the PNP in particular, in its campaign against illegal drugs,” clarified Teves in a recent Facebook live.
Last week, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos asked all high-ranking PNP officials to tender their courtesy resignations as part of efforts to purge personnel involved in illegal drug trade.
But Teves said that calling for the resignation of police generals, colonels, and other officials due to the fault of a few was "improper and is a smack to the face of the whole PNP organization".
“The police officers are also human beings. If they resigned due to allegations of fault, what would happened to their benefits? How about their respective families?” asked the former deputy speaker.
Teves said that he wants to protect the image of the PNP and prevent the entire organization from being dragged just because of the wrongdoing of only one or two scalawags.
As such, he prodded the PNP leadership to identify the personalities within its ranks who have links to illegal drugs and have them prosecuted.
“Name names and file appropriate cases against the suspects...This way, only the guilty would suffer and we could avoid tarnishing the name and image of the whole police organization. I am totally against short cuts," the firebrand congressman said.
He preferred the observance of due process and the filing of charges only against those who have committed the crime. He said those not at fault should not be punished.
“Let’s use our power and influence not for our personal benefit, but for the common good of the Filipino people,” Teves also said.