In support of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) effort to instill discipline in its own ranks, the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has suspended at least 13 erring police officers.
CPPO chief Col. Manuel Abrugena on Thursday said the suspension of these cops is part of the internal cleansing implemented in all units attached to his command, in support of the PNP’s effort to build a good image for the entire police force.
The 13 erring cops placed under suspension for one to five days were for 2019 alone, he said.
In a message sent to the Philippine News Agency, Abrugena said he can render disciplinary action against erring cops if the suspension ranges from one to 30 days, which is within the power of a provincial police director.
He said that these police officers were assigned in the police stations in the towns of Ginatilan, Boljoon, Alcoy, Consolacion, and Compostela in Cebu, as well as in Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit of the CPPO.
According to him, the offenses range from simple neglect of duty to simple irregularity in the performance of duty.”
“The internal cleansing of the PNP is aligned with PRRD’s (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) campaign against corruption in the government,” Abrugena said in a statement posted on its social media page.
“Along with its intensive campaign to rid the government of abusive officials and employees, the PNP police itself and regulates its own,” he added.
Abrugena said that since Duterte’s assumption of the presidency in 2016, several cops who were found to have violated the law and made infractions in service have been either suspended or dismissed from service.
While placed under suspension, these cops are barred “from enjoying the bonuses and allowances set by the PNP.” He, however, said that they were given due process “before the decision of finality was being provided by the PNP to uplift the morale of its members.”
The police director of the Cebu province reminded police officers to perform their jobs well and warned those engaged in illegal acts to stop or they face the consequences.
“We do not tolerate wrongdoings in the organization,” he stressed.(By John Rey Saavedra)
20
