Acorda orders inventory of errant cops' case folders over missing documents at NCRPO
Police Gen, Benjamin Acorda, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) , ordered all regional directors to conduct an inventory of all the case folders of erring policemen following a report that some documents pertaining to the investigation of errant cops went missing at the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
Acorda said the report of the missing case folders at the NCRPO is alarming, especially that internal cleansing has been part of the strategic plans and disciplinary measures to professionalize the police organization.
“I am encouraging all other regions to review and check on their system or in their records if there are similar incidents. It's sad to note that there are some other police officers that are involved in drugs, but what I want to emphasize is we are active in pursuing this internal cleansing and we are not letting up in running after them,” Acorda told reporters in an interview.
Earlier, NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez revealed that some case folders of missing policemen were found to be missing during the conduct of inventory of case folders to determine and implement pending cases against errant cops in Metro Manila.
Nartatez has already ordered an investigation into the matter, focusing on the possibility that the errant cops are in cahoots with some policemen handling administrative matters in the NCRPO.
Following Nartatez’s revelation, Acorda said they are not discounting the possibility that the same modus also happened in other regional offices.
“We are looking into that. We are assuming that there are similar incidents in other regions. Those record holders should be held accountable because documents such as these are important and no document should be missing or even the entire case folders,” said Acorda.
In order to boost the documentation process, Acorda tasked the regional directors to come up with a system that comes with monitoring the transfer of documents from one person or office to another in order to come up with the best paper trail in worst case scenarios.
“I don't know what is happening again so maybe it's just a matter of reviewing the system and implementing it,” said Acorda.
“If there is evidence that would somehow state there is negligence on the part of these record holders who are supposedly keeping them, definitely there is negligence and there will be sanctions that can be imposed upon them,” he added.