Many police generals and colonels have made known to their chief, General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., their strong reservation against being asked to submit their courtesy resignations in line with the Philippine National Police’s latest effort to rid its ranks of officials purportedly involved in the illegal drugs trade.
From Azurin’s statements following a command conference with his top officials, the sense we are getting from those who are refusing to heed the resignation call of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos — an idea of General Azurin — is one of righteous indignation.
Who can blame them considering General Azurin’s admission that his brainchild was borne out of the alleged involvement of only about half a dozen police officials in the narcotics trade?
Why the shotgun approach when narco cops should be specifically and individually targeted if so warranted by the evidence? Why put even those who have not dirtied their hands with drug money under a cloud of doubt?
Hundreds of generals and colonels are affected by this call and there seems to be a demoralization among the many professional and untainted officers with their being lumped together with a rotten few.
Likewise, it’s unfortunate General Azurin had to resort to the flawed argument that those who have nothing to hide among his officers need not fear submitting their courtesy resignations. On the contrary, a courtesy resignation could be accepted under even the most questionable justification.
That crude line is also very much akin to the strong-arm tactics of some cops when they “invite” people for questioning: That only those guilty of one thing or another would refuse to be interviewed (read: interrogated) at police precincts.
As cops must not resort to haphazard work not only to bring alleged criminals before the bar of justice but also to make the cases stick, the PNP organization headed by General Azurin and overseen by Secretary Abalos’ department should not resort to shortcuts to cleanse its ranks.
The messaging people are getting from all this is that the DILG and the PNP have had to resort to this call for resignations because the National Police Commission or the PNP’s internal affairs, integrity monitoring and criminal investigation groups have failed to gather enough evidence to prosecute narco cops in court.
On another note, there’s nothing wrong with asking appointive officials to tender courtesy resignations — like the President asking members of his Cabinet to submit theirs. After all, the stay in office of appointive officials is mainly dependent on them not losing the trust and confidence of the appointing power.
However, removing career civil service workers, including members of the PNP as established in Eugenio Capablanca v. Civil Service Commission (G.R. 179370, 19 November 2009) should require something more solid than just suspicion made to bear through the acceptance of courtesy resignations.
We can expect the acceptance of any of those PNP courtesy resignations to be challenged in court because it would be equivalent to a guilty verdict, without the benefit of a trial, on the official removed from a position he or she spent decades to reach. So, why bother at all?
The government cannot resort to shortcuts to unmask, entrap and charge its officials and personnel involved in the illegal drugs trade, whether as coddlers or as direct participants in the recycling of confiscated drugs for resale back on the streets.
There’s no substitute for honest police work in meeting the ends of justice like in entrapping that non-commissioned PNP officer and several members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Taguig allegedly for dealing drugs.
The proliferation of illegal drugs will continue to be a big problem and whatever “novel” ways are thought of by government officials to help fight it should be in line with the law and due process or they’d be for naught.
Insofar as this resignation call by Secretary Abalos and General Azurin is concerned, it’s like burning the house to kill some rats.