June 14, 2023

The National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have filed criminal charges against 50 police officials over their involvement in the alleged cover-up of the P6.7-billion drug bust last October, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” C. Abalos, Jr.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Abalos, who concurrently sits as Napolcom chairperson, said the cases filed against the police officials were in violation of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; RA 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act as amended; Revised Penal Code, in particular, Article 171 on Falsification, Article 183 on Perjury, Article 184 on False Testimony and Article 217 for Malversation of Public Property; and Presidential Decree No. 1829 or Obstruction of Justice.

“Noong nakaraang Biyernes, ang NAPOLCOM at PNP ay nagsampa na ng kasong kriminal sa Office of the Ombudsman o tinatawag nating MOLEO (Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices) laban sa 50 respondents,” Abalos said.

He explained that the filing of cases stemmed from the investigation by the NAPOLCOM and the PNP’s Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) on the 990-kg shabu haul worth P6.7 billion in Manila last year.

Last April, Abalos made public a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing police officers allegedly attempting to pilfer 42 kilograms of the 990 kilograms of shabu seized.

“Of these 50 respondents, 48 appeared on the CCTV video and an additional two officers have been charged on the basis of conspiracy,” he said.

Abalos said they are optimistic about the developments on the case, which aims to weed out the erring cops from the PNP and help clean the organization’s image.

“The NAPOLCOM and the (PNP) SITG have gone through everything– the testimonies, the evidences, maraming nakita talaga dito. Pinagsama-sama nila at iyan ang dadalhin natin sa korte,” he added.

Abalos also reported that on top of the criminal cases filed before the Ombudsman, administrative cases will also be filed against the erring police officials.

Among the administrative cases that would be filed are Grave Misconduct and Grave Neglect of Duty—both of which are punishable with dismissal from the police service and forfeiture of their benefits.

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/Abalos-Criminal-cases-filed-vs-50-PNP-officials-over-P67B-shabu-haul/NC-2023-1094