Gov’t to probe drug seizures since 2016
The government will launch a Philippine National Police-wide investigation into drug seizures dating back to 2016, following a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution recommending the filing of criminal charges against at least 30 police officers involved in a “staged” P6.7-billion “shabu” bust in Manila in 2022.
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said in a Palace press briefing on Monday that their working theory was that the PNP reward system, implemented in 2016 under the administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte, encouraged a scheme where cops would seize drugs, report only a portion, and stash the rest for future arrests.
The same reward system, as revealed by retired Police Col. Royina Garma during a House quad committee hearing last year, allegedly saw Duterte offering cash rewards for every drug suspect killed in his administration’s war on drugs—a bloody antinarcotics campaign that led to thousands of extrajudicial killings.
“We will go back to 2016 all the way to 2022. It is our theory, but not proven, that because of the reward system instituted by the PNP when 2016 started, drug hauls were not being reported, and because there was a reward, they would take small amounts and place them there. With the reward, there was an accomplishment,” Remulla noted.
Cover-up scheme
The chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government issued the remarks following the DOJ’s resolution indicting 30 police officers, including two generals, for planting evidence in a massive illegal drug haul amounting to P6.7 billion worth of shabu (crystal meth).
The case stemmed from a buy-bust operation in October 2022 that led to the arrest of Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo and his accomplice, Ney Atadero.
National Police Commission (Napolcom) Vice Chair and Executive Officer Ricardo Bernabe III presented the details of the Mayo case during Monday’s briefing, including several CCTV footage from the so-called staged antidrug operation.
Police initially claimed that Mayo was arrested at Quiapo Bridge during a hot pursuit operation on Oct. 9, 2022, and was found with two kilos of shabu, while Atadero was arrested in a separate buy-bust operation in Tondo the day before.
However, CCTV footage showed that Mayo was actually arrested on Oct. 8 in a buy-bust operation in Bambang, another area of Tondo.
Based on Napolcom’s investigation, the police attempted to cover up irregularities from Mayo’s earlier arrest, including the failure to document the operation and his involvement in a large drug haul at the Wealth and Personal Development Lending office in Tondo, which Mayo owned.
The drugs, which were misappropriated by police, were later recovered near Camp Crame.
Suspension, dismissal
“Considering the foregoing, this is my personal opinion, that there appears to be a grand conspiracy to conceal a criminal enterprise within the PNP,” Remulla said.
Acting on the administrative aspect of the case, Bernabe said that the Napolcom en banc had resolved all remaining summary dismissal cases involving 56 respondent policemen.
Of these, 21 officers were dismissed from service, 16 were demoted in rank, and four were suspended for six months, while 12 cases were dismissed outright.
“With respect to the three respondents who are presidential appointees, our recommendation for dismissal from the service shall be subject to confirmation by the Office of the President,” Bernabe noted.
“Relative to the administrative case against Lt. Gen. [Benjamin] Santos, the summary dismissal proceedings against him were suspended due to a writ of preliminary injunction issued by Judge Alice Gutierrez of the Marikina City Regional Trial Court,” he said.
As to the criminal charges, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said the DOJ, in a resolution issued last December, recommended the filing of charges for violation of Section 29 of Republic Act No. 9165 (planting of evidence) against 30 police officers.
Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said the DOJ would now proceed with a comprehensive case buildup to determine criminal responsibility and reevaluate the cases filed against Mayo and Atadero currently pending at the Manila trial court for possible withdrawal.
