PNP now free from ‘active ninja cops’
Authorities are just validating reports on alleged links of some 800 policemen in the drug trade
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is now free from “active ninja cops” or rogue policemen who resell illegal drugs seized from anti-narcotics operations, an official said Sunday.
In a radio interview, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año expressed confidence that there are “no active ninja cops” in the PNP, adding that authorities are just validating reports on alleged links of some 800 policemen in the drug trade.
“It does not mean that they are really involved since these are just reports. That is why we are clarifying and validating it to determine whether these are true,” Año said.
“For now, we are no longer seeing active policemen who are involved in drugs. We are just clarifying the reports which need to be validated,” he added.
Año underscored that the PNP has been cleansing its ranks from rogue policemen in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s tough stance against criminality and illegal drugs.
Last year, the PNP was embroiled in the “ninja cops” controversy which led to the resignation of Duterte’s former police chief General Oscar Albayalde. The former top cop was linked to the controversial November 2013 drug bust in Pampanga where 13 of his subordinates allegedly pocketed illegal drugs.
“Our campaign in firing ‘ninja cops’ has been continuing. Those controversial ninja cops in the past have all relinquished their posts and faced charges,” Año said.
He also welcomed President Duterte’s order to law enforcement agencies to destroy all shabu or crystal meth confiscated from police operations in a bid to prevent uniformed personnel from reselling it.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency previously said it would destroy about one ton of shabu as ordered by President Duterte.
The “ninja cops” controversy is just one of the issues which hounded Duterte’s anti-drug campaign that was marred by allegations of human rights violations and police abuses.
The government’s bloody war on drugs has so far killed 6,000 suspected drug users since 2016 according to government data, but human rights groups peg the fatalities at 20,000.