The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday supported the call of Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. for police officers involved in the arrest of a police sergeant who yielded 990 kilograms of shabu worth P6.7 billion to take a leave of absence pending investigation of the case.
“Likewise, the PNP backs SILG’s (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government) call for the voluntary submission of leave of absence by PNP officers depicted to be directly involved in the arrest of PMSgt (Rodolfo) Mayo as seen in the CCTV footages. We believe that such is the most prudent thing to do by said officers to prevent them to influence the investigation at any stage,” PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Redrico Maranan said in a statement.
During a press briefing on Monday night held at the DILG office in Quezon City, Abalos presented a CCTV (closed circuit television) footage on what transpired during the Oct. 8, 2022 drug bust where authorities seized 990 kilos of shabu and arrested Mayo and nine others.
Abalos said the CCTV footage showed that some PNP officers were seen on the site on the day of the operation. The video was submitted to the fact-finding board headed by the National Police Commission vice chairperson Alberto Bernardo.
The police officers seen in the footage were Police Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr., then Deputy Chief PNP for Operations; Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, director of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG); Col. Julian Olonan, chief of PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) Special Operations Unit (SOU) Region 4A; Capt. Jonathan Sosongco, head of the PDEG SOU 4A arresting team; Lt. Col. Arnulfo Ibañez, OIC of PDEG SOU National Capital Region (NCR); Maj. Michael Angelo Salmingo, deputy of PDEG SOU NCR; Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzales of Quezon City Police District; Lt. Ashrap Amerol, intelligence officer of PDEG Intelligence and Foreign Liaison Division; Lt. Col. Harry Lorenzo, Manila Police District Moriones Station commander; and Capt. Randolph Piñon, chief of PDEG SOU 4A Intelligence Section.
Maranan said the PNP will not tolerate any wrongdoing of any member of the organization, regardless of rank and position.
