More than 200 policemen were penalized for non-appearance in court in cases that were filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) against arrested suspects in various operations, the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Thursday.

Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said, quoting the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management(DIDM), the penalties range from reprimand to dismissal from service.

Of the 211 policemen penalized from January 2020 to June 3, 2021, a total of 83 were dismissed from the service; 31 were demoted, 92 were suspended, while five were reprimanded.

The DIDM also reported that out of the 83 policemen dismissed from the service, ten were related to illegal drugs cases filed by the PNP.

The DIDM report was in compliance to Eleazar’s order to account for all the PNP personnel who are either deliberately snubbing court hearings to testify or those who neglect to perform their duty of testifying in court against criminal suspects that they would arrest.

“Our mandate as police officers does not end on arresting those who violated the law. Also part of our job is to attend hearing especially if they are summoned by the court or they are the arresting officer," Eleazar said.

“Effective law enforcement demands that criminal elements are not only arrested but are also punished through conviction. So policemen who can’t justify why they failed to appear in court to testify will definitely face administrative cases,” he added.

Eleazar said imposing penalties against policemen who failed to attend court hearings only proved that mechanisms are in place in the PNP to hold accountable those who fail to exercise their duty.

Based on the DIDM data, there are still 1,428 pending administrative cases being resolved for non-appearance in both drug and non-drug related cases.

Eleazar also ordered the DIDM to submit a report detailing why police personnel are failing to appear in court.

"We are now studying and finding a way on how to make sure that our cops will be present in court as witness on all the cases we file. Their role in making sure the suspects will be detained is very important," he said. Ella Dionisio/DMS