Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. has directed a thorough investigation into the alleged involvement of dismissed and retired police officers in criminal syndicates.
The order came after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that at least 10 former police officials are suspected of participating in the operations of such groups.
Nartatez said he already directed the Intelligence Group (IG) and the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) to conduct a deep-dive validation.
“We are not just looking at their current activities but also their possible connections inside the organization. Even if they are already out of the service, they still carry the tactical knowledge they learned here, and that makes them high-risk,” said Nartatez.
“We are consolidating all records of their previous administrative cases to see if there were ‘protectors’ who allowed them to flourish before their dismissal,” he added.
Nartatez assured the public that cleansing the ranks remains a priority.
Aside from the immediate investigation, Nartatez ordered a reassessment of internal monitoring systems to prevent corruption that may continue after retirement or dismissal.
He said ethics training and anti-corruption workshops will be strengthened while early detection mechanisms will be tightened, particularly in sensitive units. (Aaron Recuenco)
