A senior police official with a rank of Brigadier General has been recommended for dismissal from the service in connection with the alleged wrongdoings in the conduct of raid on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Parañaque City last year, the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police (PNP-IAS) said.
IAS Inspector General Brigido J. Dulay did not name the ranking police official as the case will still have to undergo legal proceedings after they forwarded the recommendation to the Office of the Chief PNP.
But he said the recommendation was based on the result of their own probe in connection with a raid on a condominium in Parañaque City in September 2023 when Southern Police District (SPD) personnel served a search warrant on charges of illegal possession of firearms.
“The Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has concluded its investigation into the controversial police operation conducted in September 2023, recommending the dismissal of a police general under the principle of command responsibility and gross neglect of duty. This decision underscores the PNP's unwavering commitment to accountability and integrity within its ranks,” Dulay said.
He explained that those involved in the operation were already dismissed from the service except from the case of the police general as the IAS had to secure first an authority to investigate since the ranking police official is considered as a presidential appointee.
Based on the PNP data, 10 police personnel involved in the incident were already dismissed from the service after being found guilty of grave misconduct, grave irregularity in the performance of duty, grave neglect of duty, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, less grave misconduct and less grave neglect of duty.
Aside from the 10 police officers, seven others were demoted while another 17 were suspended.
Background
Based on the IAS data, the Parañaque operation report stated that 10 Chinese and a Filipino were arrested while several Chinese nationals were rescued. The operating cops also reported to have confiscated P4.6 million in cash.
However, the NCRPO said there were alleged irregularities in the service of the search warrants after the arrested Chinese nationals complained about being arbitrarily detained and claimed that personal belongings not included in the warrant were illegally confiscated by the police.
“Subsequent investigations revealed that the involved officers confiscated P27 million in cash that were not subject of the search warrant and deliberately excluded a sizable amount of cash and other personal items from the official inventory of recovered evidence,” the IAS report stated.
“Additionally, the officers were found to have planted firearms at the scene, attempted to destroy closed-circuit television (CCTV) recordings, and deactivated their body-worn cameras during the operation,” it added.
Warning to commanders
In the case of the police general, Dulay explained that the recommendation to dismiss the police general was based on the established fact of his failure to act on the allegation of wrongdoings, including the report of the missing huge sum of money confiscated during the operation.
He said the probe stemmed from the inaction of the police general after being aware of the reports of anomalies in the conduct of the operation.
“As the commander, he should have been checking on his men regularly and if there were some wrongdoings, he should have been acting on them immediately,” said Dulay.
“Under the principle of command responsibility, commanders should not deny, should not close their eyes and should not point to their men in case of irregularities in the conduct of operations. They have this responsibility, their obligation to fulfill in accordance with the law and the regulations of the PNP.”
“This should serve as an example, a warning to all police commanders that they could not wash hands if their men are involved in illegal activities,” said Dulay.