The chief of Mandaluyong City Police has been relieved from duty after testing positive for drugs, the Eastern Police Department (EPD) said.
According to EPD Director PBGen. Wilson Asueta, Col. Cesar Gerente tested positive for drug use in a surprise drug examination spearheaded by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) among its top brass, other commanders, and chiefs of its different offices and support units on Aug. 24.
Gerente has been assigned to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Section under the Regional Personnel and Records Management Division of NCRPO for further investigation and possible filing of administrative charges.
The NCRPO conducted another drug test on all 497 personnel of the Mandaluyong City Police Station on Aug. 28. All of them tested negative.
NCRPO Director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez stressed that random drug testing seeks to detect and remove drug-using police officers from their ranks.
“I will not tolerate scalawags in NCRPO especially those who are involved in illegal drug activities, sinisiguro kong may kalalagyan kayo (you have somewhere else to go). Patuloy ang NCRPO sa paglilinis sa aming hanay para sa tapat at marangal na serbisyong publiko (NCRPO continues to clean up its ranks for honest and honorable public service,” Nartatez said.
He added that the surprise drug tests focus on integrity enhancement, one of the five-focus agenda of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. aimed at strengthening internal disciplinary mechanisms to prevent and address corruption and other issues among the ranks.
This also promotes transparency in police operations and ensures that the personnel will adhere to the highest ethical standards, he explained.
New chief
Mandaluyong City Mayor Ben Abalos, together with other city government officials welcomed the designation of PCol. Mary Grace Madayag as the new acting chief of police of Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, Aug. 30.
"We support the PNP's effort to cleanse its ranks of drug-users. This is in line with our government's thrust towards a drug-free country. While it is unfortunate that our former Chief of Police, Col. Cesar Gerente, tested positive for drug use, we understand that these surprise drug tests promote the highest standards among our police force," Abalos said.
"We welcome our Officer in Charge Police, Col. Mary Grace Madayag to Mandaluyong City, and at the same time urge our PNP to conduct the strictest of tests and to enforce the highest of standards before presenting us with the names of the next possible candidate for Mandaluyong's Chief of Police in order to avoid a similar issue in the future," he added.
The mayor assured the public that the local government will continue to strive towards a peaceful, brighter, and more prosperous future for everyone.