Return of the “ninja cops”?

The attempt to cover up the arrest of Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr. has been in the news for weeks. He was caught with 999 kilos of shabu, the biggest drug catch in the history of the PNP. The cost of the seizure is more than ?1 billion. Then 42 kilos of shabu were allegedly skimmed by some policemen. DILG Secretary Abalos Jr. first revealed the cover-up. He tagged personnel of the Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) behind the crime.

Abalos has evidence to prove the attempted cover-up, including CCTV footage of the way Mayo was handled during the arrest. Many were surprised at PNP Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr.’s silence on the issue. This Monday, Azurin will officially retire as PNP chief. Now he chooses to speak saying there was no attempt to cover up Mayo’s arrest and even warned Secretary Abalos that he may be receiving wrong information from certain individuals. But the CCTV footage tells a different story. How is that misinformation?

It seems convenient that Azurin now speaks on the matter just as he is about to retire. It's like, "Ok, you handle this. Bye”. This is a big issue that should have been investigated by another agency besides the PNP as soon as the arrest and seizure of the drugs were made. Forty-nine DEG personnel, including DEG director Police Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, who was replaced by Azurin as PNP chief, are being investigated. But strangely enough, there were those who were seen on CCTV but not included in the investigation.

There are those who say that the "ninja cops" or policemen who resell the illegal drugs they seize are back. Or did they ever leave in the first place? Some say that 30% of the seized drugs are immediately claimed by some policemen. Naturally, this was denied by the PNP. But former president Duterte is an ally of President Marcos, and the vice president is his daughter. Do they no longer care about the illegal drug situation in the country now that he no longer is in power? I really question the logic behind Duterte’s war on drugs if suppressing illegal drugs is part of the mandate of the PNP. The PNP doesn’t need any sitting president to tell them that. If that's the case, then the drug problem will never go away, especially if policemen are involved in putting drugs back into circulation. This is why it is so difficult to trust the PNP no matter who is sitting in Malacañang. Azurin promised to reform the PNP. Well, he retires on Monday. Has the image of the PNP improved for you?