Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Mon ordered all police units to halt anti-narcotics efforts to focus on “internal cleansing” of the police ranks.
“To all the rogue cops, beware! We no longer have a war on drugs. We now have a war on scalawags,” Dela Rosa said. “We will cleanse our ranks.”
The top police official added that the PNP will create a counter-intelligence task force to carry out “the war on scalawags.” He warned that bad cops who fight back will end up dead.
Phelim Kine of Human Rights Watch earlier said that, “Philippine police have good reason to believe that they can literally get away with murder. Duterte has pledged effective immunity for police who kill in the name of his drug war.”
According to ABS-CBN News, “Calls for a suspension of the war on drugs intensified following the death of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo who was abducted by policemen and strangled to death inside Camp Crame. “
Dela Rosa’s announcement came hours after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the dismantling of all anti-illegal drug units in the PNP. The president said was embarassed of the police officers who had abused their authority.
In the meantime, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is expected to take the lead in the Duterte administration’s fight against drugs.
