The Philippine National Police said dissolving special operations units attached to the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group is part of efforts to overhaul its anti-illegal drugs operations.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo admitted that there were already initial discussions that the 17 SOUs could not just be disbanded since there is more than 1,000 PNP personnel that would be affected.
She added that all top units of the PNP were already asked for comments, conclusions and recommendations in connection with the proposed deactivation of PDEG’s SOUs.
“Once all the inputs are in, this will be submitted to the Office of the Chief PNP and if approved, it will be submitted to the National Police Commission for review,” Fajardo told reporters in a press briefing held at Camp Crame.
PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda earlier said that should the proposal be approved, all the operations of PDEG are COPLAN (case operational plan)-based and that much of the illegal drugs campaign would be delegated to regional and provincial Drug Enforcement Units.
Meanwhile, more than 700 policemen assigned to the 17 SOU of the PDEG are set to be recalled and be subjected to a values formation and moral recovery program.
Fajardo said the PDEG leadership under Brig. Gen. Faro Olaguera is now preparing for the recall of all its SOU personnel while the discussion on whether or not the 17 units would be disbanded is ongoing.
The 17 SOU units of PDEG represent the 17 regions in the country.
“According to him (Olaguera), they are now preparing for the possible transport of their personnel here at the National Headquarters (Camp Crame, Quezon City) and they are also preparing for the billeting area for them,” Fajardo said.
“And should they be transported here at the NHQ, they will be included in the program that is now being prepared and spearheaded by the Directorate for Human Resources and Doctrine Development for them to undergo values formation and moral recovery program and other reorientation courses,” she added.
The deactivation of PDEG’s SOUs became a hot topic in the PNP over the involvement of some anti-narcotics policemen to illegal drugs activities that include recycling and pilferage of confiscated illegal drugs.
The recent and biggest controversy that hit the PNP was the October 2022 operation in Manila wherein PDEG personnel, some of them were assigned to the PDEG-SOU of Region 4A, were accused of stealing kilos of shabu from the 990 kilos confiscated from a lending agency owned by dismissed police master sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.
Former PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. was also quoted saying that the reason why he would not attend on-site presentations of confiscated illegal drugs is that such successful operations are sometimes included in the playbook of illegal drugs syndicates to make it appear that the drug war is winning.
Two police generals and two police colonels were also recommended to be kicked out of the police service and be slapped with criminal and administrative charges for illegal drugs involvement.
All of them turned out to be former officials of the PDEG.
Earlier, Acorda also said policemen will undergo “proper vetting” before they will be assigned to police units involved in the continuing war against illegal drugs.
Acorda made the pronouncement amid recent findings about the involvement of some personnel of the PDEG in illegal drugs.
More than 40 personnel of the PDEG were disarmed, ordered restricted and are now under investigation over allegations of drug protection racket, pilferage and recycling of confiscated illegal drugs.
“The anti-illegal drug campaign shall be done by ensuring proper vetting of PDEG and Drug Enforcement Unit personnel to make sure that only those who have successfully undergone an honest vetting process will be assigned with anti-illegal drug units,” he said
Acorda, who used to be the head of the PNP’s Directorate for Intelligence, wants to maximize all the information that must be obtained in ensuring that anti-narcotics personnel of the PNP are all clean.
He said the vetting process will be done from the PDEG down to the station level of drug enforcement units.
Fajardo said the move is also aimed at ensuring that those who have a derogatory record will not be returned to the PDEG or any PNP anti-illegal drugs unit — the issue behind dismissed Mayo.
“The background investigation will further be intensified and field commanders were the ones tasked to conduct it and all their findings were tasked to be written so that if there would be problems later on, we would hold them accountable,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo said there is also an ongoing review of the existing policies in the conduct of background investigations.