24 police personnel test positive for illegal drugs — PNP

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 5) — Twenty-four out of 115,000 police personnel tested positive for illegal drugs from January to August this year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.

PNP Forensic Group Director Brigadier General Constancio Chinayog said administrative charges were immediately filed against the 24 policemen, which may result in their dismissal from service.

Meanwhile, PNP chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. assured the public that erring cops have no place in the agency, especially under his watch. He also vowed to implement an intensified internal cleansing.

"This is a continuing activity to make sure that our personnel are constantly checked and also to give warning to our personnel to really avoid this kind of wrongdoing," Acorda said in a press briefing.

"We have historical data and nire-review natin 'yong mga dating nag-positive na, ire-review namin kung may mga nakabalik ba we have record nung mga lahat na nag-test positive noon kahit nung noon pa when we started this drug testing," Acorda added.

[Translation: We have historical data and we are reviewing those who previously tested positive, we will review if there are those who have returned, we have a record of all those who tested positive even before when we started this drug testing.]

Last week, Mandaluyong City Chief of PCol Cesar Gerente also tested positive for illegal drugs.

He is the highest ranking official to test positive for illegal drugs this year.