Out of the 955 police colonels and generals across the country, only one “technically” chose not to submit his courtesy resignation until the 31 January deadline, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. said on Wednesday.
“It appears from our data that out of 955 generals and full colonels, 12 did not comply. But it’s not 12 — after all, only one didn’t comply,” Abalos said in a Palace press briefing.
“Why? Of the 12, five have already retired, so that leaves us with seven; of the seven, six are retirees. If we are going to look at the figures, technically, only one has not yet submitted his resignation out of 955.”
Early last month, Abalos made the appeal to police top brass to submit their courtesy resignations in a bid to sack high-ranking officials allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
When asked about the lone police officer’s reason for not heeding Abalos’ appeal, PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said: “According to him, that’s his personal prerogative.”
Despite this, Abalos underscored that this lone high-ranking police officer will not be spared from the internal cleansing.
“We fully respect his right. As I have told you before, we are not ordering or commanding anyone; it was just an appeal,” he stressed.
“No sanctions will be done – nothing at all. But of course, we will find out why he doesn’t want to (submit his courtesy resignation),” Abalos added.
The DILG is looking into completing the assessment within three months. Within this time frame, the committee is tasked to screen and investigate the police officers.
The names of officials found to have links with the illegal drug trade will be sent to the National Police Commission or NAPOLCOM for verification.
If their unlawful associations are proven, the committee will submit a recommendation to the President for the filing of charges against the police officials.