Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa announced today that he sacked three cops from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas for playing golf as many as three times in the span of a single work week. (OK, now that‘s a bit much.)
Gamboa identified the officers as Col. Dennis Artil, Lt. Colonel Richard Bad-Ang, and Lt. Col. Glenn Mayam, and said he ordered their relief last night.
“[T]hey were playing there Tuesdays and Thursdays, and if they were bored, they play there Wednesdays,” The PNP chief said in a press briefing this morning at Camp Crame.
“That’s why I have enough basis why they should be relieved,” he added.
However, he hinted that the sacking might be temporary.
“I have ordered their reassignment to the personnel holding and accounting unit at the national headquarters while undergoing investigation for flagrant violation of a specific directive, an act that constitutes grave misconduct,” Gamboa said.
Read: Put the Putter Down: Police chief bans cops from golfing on weekdays
He added that “due process” will be maintained while the cops are being investigated.
In October last year, Gamboa explicitly forbade cops from playing golf on weekdays as part of an”internal cleansing” of the police force. He said cops would have more energy if they weren’t teeing off on workdays, and implied that golf was a pastime only for Filipino elites.
The PNP chief reiterated this morning that playing the sport on weekends and holidays is fine, just not on weekdays, and that in spite of the sackings, he didn’t want his men to be overly anxious.
“I don’t set parameters [just] so everybody will be on their toes,” he said.
Reader Interactions