Sacked cops get dressing down from Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte scolded the five police officials he fired recently for allegedly allowing illegal drugs to proliferate in Bacolod City.

Senior Supt. Francisco Ebreo, Bacolod police chief, met with Duterte on Tuesday at Malacañang together with the other officials who were fired last Saturday: Supt. Nasruddin Tayuan, Supt. Richie Makilan Yatar, Senior Insp. Victor Paulino and Senior Supt. Allan Rubi Macapagal.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte gave the police officers a dressing down and castigated them for allowing the proliferation of illegal drugs in Bacolod.

“The President particularly expressed his frustration as to why they have no knowledge about the presence of certain personalities in Bacolod who are involved in the illegal drug industry,” Panelo said in a statement.

Former presidential aide Christopher Go, who was present during the meeting, said the police officers denied having ties with drug syndicates.

The sacked law enforcers will not be occupying any post pending results of the investigation on the allegations against them.

“This swift action of the President is a timely warning to other PNP (Philippine National Police) officers that the President will not tolerate incompetence and inefficiency in the police force, especially with respect to the administration’s crusade versus illegal drugs,” Panelo said.

Earlier this week, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said Ebreo was not in the list of policemen with alleged ties to narcotics syndicates.

But Panelo insisted last Tuesday that Duterte has basis for firing the police official, claiming that the President has multiple intelligence sources.

President Duterte expressed belief that Ebreo is a protector of drug syndicates.

“At the very least, he’s a protector. He might not be in the trafficking business but he was really a protector,” Duterte told reporters yesterday in Malacañang.

“I cannot believe that with all the information available to every chief of police or city police director for that matter assigned in the province, that you would not review the record of the province in terms of criminality and drug trafficking. It was not reviewed,” he added.

Duterte said he was puzzled as to why Ebreo and his deputy had to provide security to suspected drug lords who were ambushed in Bacolod City. He identified one of the ambush victims as “Cano,” referring to former councilor Richard Cano Tan.