ILOILO City – Two trainee police officers face termination. They were caught intoxicated while on duty.
Jacob John Ondrada and John Anthony Lubria were both members of the Public Safety Basic Recruit Course (PSBRC) class “Masidhi”. They graduated from the Regional Training School Western Visayas in March this year.
According to Police Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6, both were about to take Field Training Program (FTP).
Miranda said the police trainees were recommended to undergo termination proceedings by the PRO-6’s Termination Deliberation Board based on the initial evaluation Miranda approved on June 15.
On June 5, 2021, a jeepney driver sought help from police officers who were on foot patrol along Diversion Road, Barangay San Rafael in Mandurriao district.
According to the driver, there were two passengers wearing the Philippine National Police (PNP) field service uniform “sleeping soundly” in his jeepney.
“Assuming that the passengers were police officers, the driver was afraid to wake them up. That’s why he looked for other police officers to awaken them,” Miranda said.
The other two police officers helped the driver and awakened the passengers whom they later identified as Ondrada and Lubria.
Miranda said that during the accounting, the two cops were asked if they took intoxicating liquor and they admitted they were drunk.
“This should not be the actuation of police trainee,” Miranda added.
Meanwhile, the cases of the two were aggravated considering that Iloilo City is under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) where selling and drinking intoxicating liquor is prohibited.
The subject police trainees will not face the usual administrative charges under the rules and procedures of the Philippine National Police (PNP) administrative disciplinary machinery; instead they would be subject to termination proceedings considering that their appointment to the police service is still on temporary status.
The termination deliberation board will assess the merit and fitness of the police trainees to stay in the PNP./PN
