Napolcom, DILG: Not all officials stripped of police power linked to drugs

The National Police Commission (Napolcom) on Friday clarified that the grounds for withdrawal of deputation of police powers of certain local chief executives were “not all drug-related.”

Napolcom vice- chairman and executive officer Rogelio Casurao made the statement after a query from Zamboanga del Sur Representative Aurora E. Cerilles, whose husband, Gov. Antonio Cerilles, was among those local officials whose police powers were stripped.

He said while the most common reason for the withdrawal of deputation was drug-related, there are “specific and detailed” grounds for each of the affected officials.

“The resolutions from the Napolcom were clear, as they stated the basis for the withdrawal of the deputation powers of the local officials. It was not solely about drug-related issues,” he said.

Napolcom Resolution No. 2017- 571 cited that the grounds for the withdrawal of deputation for Governor Cerilles was the “receipt of a confidential report outlining the abuse of authority committed” by him.

For his part, Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy, the concurrent Napolcom chairman, said there are “various grounds for the withdrawal [of deputation].”

“The public must be made aware that the confidential reports which formed the basis for the withdrawal of deputation were gathered by different intelligence agencies, thereby giving them a high degree of reliability,” he said.

He added that there are other actions that can be committed by local chief executives that may warrant the suspension of their power over the police, and it is not just confined to drugs or abuse of authority.

He said some of the grounds were “frequent unauthorized absences, providing material support to criminal elements or engaging in acts inimical to national security or which negate the effectiveness of the peace and order campaign.” —KBK, GMA News