Call for top cops to resign a 'distraction' from 'raging' issues - Castro

A member of the opposition in the House of Representatives on Thursday criticized the call for top police officials to resign, saying it was intended to divert public attention away from "raging" issues.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier asked generals and full colonels of the Philippine National Police to submit their courtesy resignations as part of the government's efforts to rid the police force of officers involved in the illegal drug trade.

"This [call] is a distraction. Curiously, the announcement was made amid raging public interest issues such as the Philippine airspace outage, mass transport woes in the metro, and New Year spike in prices of goods and services, including the water rate hike implemented by Maynilad and Manila Water," House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the ACT Teachers party-list said in a statement.

"If the Marcos Jr. administration really wants to cleanse the PNP of the drug problem, then it must pursue the filing of charges against erring cops instead of pushing for the approval of the free legal assistance bill for uniformed personnel," she added.

Castro said the government should allow the International Criminal Court to probe the abuses in the police’s anti-drug operations.

"Otherwise, such a move would just be lame media theatric," she added. 

For House dangerous drugs panel chairperson Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte and House public and order panel head Dan Fernandez of Laguna, Abalos made the right call.

"In my view, we should support this call, and the PNP should heed this call. We need such a strategy if we are to win the fight against illegal drugs," Barbers said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

"The policy to tender a courtesy resignation will not only keep their ranks clean but will also enable them to gain the full trust and confidence of the public," he added.

Fernandez said Abalos' move was laudable and should be complemented with appropriate legislation.

"I’m fully supportive of Secretary Abalos and in addition, we need to strengthen our existing laws penalizing men in uniform who are in cahoots with criminal elements," Fernandez said.

"As it is, there are those who have no regard for laws because they can easily get away with it," he added. —VBL, GMA Integrated News