Over 9,000 erring cops sanctioned since 2016, PNP OIC Gamboa says

More than 9,000 policemen have been administratively sanctioned since July 2016, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday.

At a press briefing, PNP officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant General Archie Francisco Gamboa disclosed that from July 2016 to September 20, 2019, a total of 9,172 policemen or roughly 4.7% of the total number of PNP personnel had been meted various degrees of penalty for administrative cases.

Of the total number, 2,806 were dismissed from service, 535 were demoted in rank, 4,721 were suspended, 762 were reprimanded, 60 were restricted to quarters, 208 had forfeited salary and 80 were withheld privileges.

Gamboa said those dismissed from the service include 454 personnel who were found guilty of involvement in illegal drugs — 352 tested positive for drug use while 102 others were involved in drug-related activities.

Gamboa said the numbers would show how dead serious the PNP is in running after police scalawags. Still, he admitted that more has to be done in the PNP's internal cleansing program.

"While we've dismissed and disciplined more than 9,000 of our personnel, this punitive measure should be deliberate and persistent in seeking the help of faith-based organizations to add more volunteers to the more than 7,000 life coaches mentoring our 190,000 plus personnel in their weekly work-life sessions that are values driven," Gamboa said.

Gamboa further said not only the Integrity Monitoring Enforcement Group (IMEG) should run after rogue cops but also all the regional and provincial directors as well as all chiefs of police.

"All PNP personnel must not tolerate lawlessness or disorder and must be tough against criminals without fear or favor," Gamboa said. — RSJ, GMA News