Almost all of the third level officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP), or those with the rank of full colonels to generals, have already complied with the request of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos to submit a courtesy resignation.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said 95 percent of the 953 third level officers have already forwarded their signed courtesy resignation, adding that they expect all the documents to be completed before the end of this month.
Supposedly, there were 956 third level officers in the PNP that are covered by the request for courtesy resignation but Fajardo said three of them are retiring this month and thus, opted not to file theirs.
"Some of the officers covered are from the Visayas and Mindanao so we are waiting for the official transmission of their courtesy resignation to the National Headquarters (NHQ, at Camp Crame in Quezon City)," said Fajardo.
The submission of courtesy resignation was announced by Abalos last week amid the persisting reports about the return of the ninja cops (referring to policemen who are allegedly recycling confiscated illegal drugs) following the involvement of a police sergeant in the P6.7 billion drug haul in Manila in October last year.
The arrested cop, Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo, Jr., was then assigned as intelligence officer of the PNP's Drug Enforcement Group.
Former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said Mayo was among those deployed in Mindanao in 2016 as punishment for being involved in illegal drugs activities. He was wondering how Mayo was able to return to Manila, and as a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Unit.
Based on the agreement, all officials who would submit courtesy resign and will undergo assessment and evaluation by the Committee of Five, one of the members is retired police general and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
The officials will remain in their current posts, except if their resignation is accepted--which means that they will be forced to retire.
"We are waiting on how they (Committee of Five) are going to do the processing and assessment of courtesy resignations," said Fajardo.
But she said part of those which will be scrutinized is the officers' inclusion on intelligence reports about their involvement in illegal drugs activities.
"Maybe part of it is also the conduct of lifestyle check although lifestyle check is not new for the PNP because we have been filing our SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth). So there will be a check on their lifestyle in the last 30 years," said Fajardo.
A third level officer, considered as a senior officer, has at around 30 years in service, according to Fajardo.
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr., who was among those who recommended the submission of courtesy resignation to Abalos, emphasized the importance of the move in order to put an end to all insinuation of the involvement of some officers to illegal drugs activities, which he said, has been affecting the entire organization.
Azurin, who also submitted his courtesy resignation, said the end of the assessment of the Committee of Five will give the PNP a clean slate and a refreshed integrity to carry out the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs.