ILOILO City – No police personnel from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is involved in illegal drug activities.
Twenty-nine police colonels and two brigadier generals from the PRO-6 submitted their courtesy resignation letters to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in January as part of the nationwide cleansing process within the Philippine National Police (PNP). None from Western Visayas was accepted by the President after months of vetting.
But Marcos announced yesterday that he accepted the courtesy resignation of 18 third-level officers of the PNP from other parts of the country. They were found to be involved in illegal drug activities, based on the vetting of the National Police Commission Ad Hoc Advisory Group.
The 18 were part of the 953 PNP personnel nationwide who had submitted their courtesy resignations.
Then PRO-6 director Brigadier General Leo Francisco and PRO-6 deputy regional director for administration Brigadier General Archival Macala confirmed yesterday that no police official from the PRO-6 was part of the 18.
“Wala tayong tao sa na-mention ng ating President,” Macala said.
For his part, Francisco, who immediately submitted his courtesy resignation when he was the PRO-6 director, said he was happy that the Western Visayas police force proved they were indeed serious in the fight against illegal drugs
“PRO-6 personnel are not involved in illegal drug activities. The PRO-6 is a drug-free place. I’m thankful to the people in Western Visayas for their continued trust and confidence. When I was the PRO-6 director I always told my men to stay away from illegal drugs and I’m thankful that they followed my warning and reminders,” Francisco told Panay News in a telephone interview yesterday.
Here are the 18 PNP officials whose resignations were accepted by the President:
* Brigadier General Remus Balingasa Medina
* Brigadier General Randy Quines Peralta
* Brigadier General Pablo Gacayan Labra II
* Colonel Rogarth Bulalacao Campo
* Colonel Rommel Javier Ochave
* Colonel Rommel Allaga Velasco
* Colonel Robin King Sarmiento
* Colonel Fernando Reyes Ortega
* Colonel Rex Ordoño Derilo
* Colonel Julian Tesorero Olonan
* Colonel Rolando Tapon Portera
* Colonel Lawrence Bonifacio Cajipe
* Colonel Dario Milagrosa Menor
* Colonel Joel Kagayed Tampis
* Colonel Michael Arcillas David
* Colonel Igmedio Belonio Bernaldez
* Colonel Rodolfo Calope Albotra Jr.
* Colonel Marvin Barba Sanchez
Meanwhile, PNP chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the officials whose resignations were accepted are continuously being monitored.
He said the necessary orders “for their relief from their present positions will be immediately issued and the (resigned) officers will be assigned to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, DPRM (Directorate for Personnel and Records Management) to preclude them from exerting further influence and/or performing illegal activities using their positions.”
“Because it’s a courtesy resignation I would like to look at this na sana (and hopefully) it’s an eye opener to each and every officer. It’s high time we take our job seriously. It’s a no-no na we get involved in illegal drugs,” Acorda said in a media interview at Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
