Hundreds of senior police officers in the Philippines have been asked to resign after an investigation found out that a handful of them was involved in the narcotics trade. On Wednesday (January 4), the country’s Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos appealed to all colonels and generals-about 300 in total- to offer courtesy resignations to restore trust in anti-narcotics operations.
Addressing a press conference at the national police headquarters in the capital city of Manila, Abalos said that these senior police officers could continue to work while their records were being assessed by a committee, news agency AFP reported.
“If you’re not involved, there’s nothing to worry about,” Abalos said, adding those officers who did not tender their resignation would be questionable.
“This is one way of cleansing our ranks. Let us start afresh. It’s difficult to fight a war when it’s your ally that will shoot you in the back,” the interior secretary further told reporters on Wednesday.
The police in the Philippines have been waging an anti-narcotics campaign launched by former president Rodrigo Duterte and continued by his successor Ferdinand Marcos.
Former president Duterte had faced worldwide condemnation for launching an anti-narcotics crackdown where over 6,200 people were killed in police operations between 2016 and 2022, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
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Since Ferdinand Marcos became the president in June last year, more than 24,000 sting operations were conducted by authorities in which around 30,000 people were arrested and a dozen suspects killed, police data showed.
The latest plan to cleanse the police was recommended by police chief General Rodolfo Azurin and other senior officers, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos said on Wednesday and pointed out Azurin himself is expected to tender his resignation while his records were being checked.
A security analyst told AFP that Abalos’ plan was taking a politically safer and less confrontational route to clean up the police force.
“If nobody resigns, then he’s got all the more justification to start going after corruption via the hard-power route,” Sam Ramos-Jones, director of operations at Philippine Strategic Associates, told the news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
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