Peace and order will be affected if military takes over police duties as Duterte suggests: PNP
Peace and order will be affected if the military takes over the Philippine National Police (PNP) as suggested by former President Rodrigo Duterte, a Philippine National Police (PNP) official said on Wednesday.
In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo stressed that unlike the PNP the military is "not well versed in police works especially the conduct of investigation."
"It is hard to remove the policemen, especially those that are in the police stations. You can just imagine if there is no one will patrol, investigate, if no one will address the walk-in complaints everyday, peace and order will be affected. That is why we do not stop and we continue to coordinate and thankful for the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)," she said.
"The mindset of AFP is different. They are not well versed when it comes to the police work, especially in the conduct of investigation," she added.
However, Fajardo said the PNP understands the "frustrations" of Duterte because of the recent cases where police officers are allegedly involved in illegal drug cases.
Several police officers are facing criminal and administrative charges before the Ombudsman for the alleged irregularities during the seizure of 990 kilos of
shabu worth P6.7 billion seized in Tondo last year.
"First of all we respect the statement of the former president, we know where former President Rodrigo Duterte is coming from because he prioritized the fight against illegal drugs during his term. So you can just imagine the frustrations of the former president when there were policemen involved in illegal drugs," she said.
"His call for all the members of the PNP to resign and for the AFP to take over, you have to also understand that his statements of the former president are due to his frustrations and the leadership of the PNP understand it," she added.
Fajardo reiterated that the PNP assures "the former president and the public that the police leadership continue to go after the rogue cops especially those who are involved in illegal drugs."
"The PNP administrative disciplinary machinery remains in place and many personnel have already been removed from the service," she said.
"There are members who were suspended and we want to give assurance to everyone that the PNP will not stop until it removes all the policemen involved in the illegal activities," she added. Robina Asido/DMS
