MANILA, Philippines - If scalawag Luzon-based policemen reassigned to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) would continue to misbehave, residents should just kill them, the country’s police chief said yesterday.

“That is why I sent them there, so they can die if they commit some foolishness,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said in an interview at the Angeles City police station in Pampanga.

He said ARMM residents should deliver swift justice to policemen who would continue their nefarious ways in their new assignments.

It was Dela Rosa’s response to concerns raised by officials and residents of ARMM after he announced that abusive policemen and other misfits would be transferred to the region.

“They may question the wisdom of our actions but under the present system, that is what I see as an immediate action that will impact on the lives of these rogue policemen,” he said.

At the police station, Dela Rosa berated seven policemen from Angeles City accused of extorting money from three Koreans whom they arrested last December for alleged involvement in illegal online gaming.

Police corruption and abuses came into focus following revelations that a group of police officers kidnapped a Korean businessman and murdered him right inside the national police headquarters at Camp Crame last October.

Dela Rosa said the announcement of his plan to reassign the erring policemen may have prompted some of them to resign or go AWOL (absent without leave).

The development was somehow positive, Dela Rosa said, as “they are no longer problems on the administrative aspect.”

“We don’t have to belabor ourselves to conduct trial and hearing in their administrative cases,” he pointed out.

Dela Rosa maintained that rogue police officers comprise only a small percentage in the PNP, which has 165,000 officers and personnel. Based on his estimate, there are only about two percent or 3,300 policemen involved in illegal activities.

Senior Supt. Jose Chiquito Malayo, head of the PNP Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) tasked to run after police scalawags, said he welcomed the challenge of the Duterte administration to rid the PNP of corrupt and abusive officers.

“We are law enforcers and we are mandated by law and we have police operational procedures to follow just in case,” he told reporters.

Malayo, who has been allowed to have an initial manpower of 100 personnel, said they are still in the process of vetting candidates to join their unit. “I am trying to recruit personnel that we really know to have proven themselves,” he said.

Reorient, retrain, reform

The ARMM police chief, for his part, expressed confidence scalawag policemen transferred to his command could still be reformed.

“In the process... they will be reoriented, retrained, reformed and transformed. This approach will give them ‘another chance’ that will either redeem or end their careers in the region,” said ARMM director Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac.

He said the so-called narco-cops would be given only administrative functions so they could be closely monitored.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman earlier raised concern over Dela Rosa’s decision to move erring law enforcers to the region.

Sindac said he fully understands and respects the concern of the people of ARMM as he assured the public that the reassignment would reform the policemen.

“This transfer of personnel is also happening in other regions, as a matter of fact, ‘narco cops’ from Mindanao were likewise reassigned to other regions in Luzon for the same reasons,” he added.

There are currently 151 alleged “scalawags in uniform” assigned to ARMM or just 2.2 percent of the 6,727 of the total in the region.

Sindac also expressed his support for President Duterte’s plan to revive the Philippine Constabulary, saying it would intensify the campaign against criminality and expedite the internal cleansing of the PNP.

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa urged members of the defunct Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) not to lose hope and continue with their job as policemen despite the dissolution of their unit.

Dela Rosa met with around 100 AIDG personnel and assured them of his support.

“Divert your skills in other fields of the PNP where you will be assigned,” he said.

“Please bear in mind I’m not blaming you for what happened,” said Dela Rosa.

He was referring to the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo, who was murdered at Camp Crame allegedly by AIDG officers, namely Supt. Rafael Dumlao III, Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas.

This incident prompted Dela Rosa to dissolve the AIDG and other anti-drug operatives down to the police station level after President Duterte ordered him to cleanse the PNP of scalawags.

To uplift their morale, Dela Rosa lauded the officers for their achievements.

“I’m very thankful for your accomplishments for the past seven months. I’m very proud of you,” said Dela Rosa.

Prior to its dissolution, the AIDG had arrested about 100 suspected drug offenders and seized P4.7 billion worth of banned narcotics last year.

Of the number of people arrested in 43 anti-illegal drug operations, 31 are foreigners.

Last year, 17 drug suspects were killed in police operations.

Dela Rosa also asked the officers to do some soul-searching and renew their faith in God. “Let’s renew our relationship with the Lord,” he said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe