After taking over the security of the New Bilibid Prisons, the Special Action Force (SAF), the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) elite unit, has a new mission: Go after rogue cops.

The PNP has tapped the combat-trained SAF anew to discipline cops involved in nefarious activities as the PNP intensifies its internal cleansing efforts following the kidnapping-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by anti-drug cops last October.

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At least 70 of the 100-member Counter-intelligence Task Force (CITF) will be coming from the SAF, PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said on Friday.

A total of 72 police commandos from the SAF’s Rapid Deployment Battalion company have been sent to Camp Crame to join the task force that will lead the crackdown on scalawags in the 165,000-strong police force.

In an interview with reporters, Dela Rosa said the SAF troopers assigned with the task force will “conduct tactical offensives against police scalawags.”

The CITF, which will have a total strength of 100 personnel, will also get counter-intelligence officers from the PNP Intelligence Group and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

It will be headed by former Zamboanga City police chief Senior Supt. Chiquito Malayo, who gained national prominence after he was abducted by Moro National Liberation Front rebels when it besieged Zamboanga City in September 2013.

The task force headquarters will replace the office of the now defunct Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG).

Dela Rosa also instructed the CITF to construct barracks for the newly deployed SAF personnel. The AIDG’s former parking space for cars seized in drug operations will be converted to quarters for CITF members.

“Probably Monday ma-ilaunch na ‘yan at pwede sila mag-entertain sa mga complaints sa information (Probably by Monday, it will be launched and they could entertain complaints and information) about rogue cops,” he said.

The PNP suspended all its operations against illegal drugs and abolished all anti-narcotics units after controversy hounded the police force over Jee’s death inside Crame allegedly masterminded by AIDG cops./rga

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