MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) stood firm with their statement that several police officers who implemented the Duterte administration’s war on drugs have been neglected and are now facing charges.
According to PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, data support PNP chief Rommel Marbil’s previous statement regarding the number of police officers affected by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
During the House of Representatives’ Quad Committee hearing, former President Duterte belied Marbil’s statement, saying he is assisting the police officers affected by the drug war.
Based on PNP records, 1,214 police officers were affected by Duterte’s war on drugs — 312 killed, 974 were wounded, 195 were dismissed from the service, 20 were imprisoned, and 214 are facing criminal cases.
“May karapatan po ang ating dating pangulo sa kaniyang mga pananalita but the records will not lie po,” Fajardo said. “Ito ay galing sa ating Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, particularly ‘yung mga killed in action and wounded in action.”
“Dun naman po sa mga nakasuhan natin, ang nag-provide po ng data na ‘yan ay DIDM. Hindi biro itong data na ito, so hindi po ito pananalita lamang ng ating chief PNP. This is backed up by solid data po,” the PNP spokesperson added.
Despite this, Fajardo said the PNP will accept the offer of P1 million from Duterte as assistance for police officers who continue to face cases related to the war on drugs during his administration.
“This is a welcome development dahil kung matatandaan niyo po nagbigay ng pahayag ang ating chief PNP na noong nakaraang administrasyon, particularly from 2016 to 2022, marami po talaga tayong pulis na humarap sa mga legal challenges,” she said.
“Maraming nakasuhan, some of them were dismissed, in fact some of them were convicted and eventually incarcerated po sa mga detention facilities. Ang direction ng ating chief PNP is to provide legal assistance sa mga pulis natin,” Fajardo added./PN
