President Rodrigo Duterte attends the 69th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Air Force at the Clark Air Base. (Photo by Presidential Photographers Division)
DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte has named five police generals with alleged links to illegal drugs trade during the Philippine Air Force’s 69th anniversary on Tuesday, July 5.
Duterte dropped a prepared speech which he said is “all motherhood statements” and went on to say that it is his moral obligation to inform the public of what is happening in the country.
“I am compelled by my sense of duty to tell you everything. Especially the police who are involved in illegal drugs trade, one way or the other, who contributed to the deterioration of the law and order of this country,” Duterte said.
The President named retired PNP deputy director general Marcelo Garbo, Jr who “was a protector of the drug syndicates in this country.”
He also named General Vicente Loot, who is now a mayor of Daanbantayan in Cebu; General Bernardo Diaz of Police Regional Office 6; former chief of National Capital Region Police Office Joel Pagdilao and former Quezon City Police District chief, Edgardo Tinio.
Garbo is from the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1981 who retired last March 2. He was the PNP Deputy Chief for Administration.
Loot served a director of the PNP Training Service and the PRO 8 director before retiring.
Diaz, whom Duterte mentioned in his speech as formerly assigned in Region 11, has told an interview by DZMM that he was never assigned in Davao Region and his last assignment was in Region 6.
He said he might have been a victim of mistaken identity and plans to report to Camp Crame on Wednesday to clear his name.
Pagdilao is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Maharlika” class of 1984, while Tinio is a member of PMA “Sandiwa” class of 1985.
Tinio also served as the chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Southern Luzon.
‘Act of treason’
Duterte said it is saddening that there are police officials, who are given opportunity to study at the Philippine National Police Academy or the PMA “at the expense of the public” and will commit “treason”.
“All along we thought we are being protected by the police primarily. It is hurtful to hear that you pay for their schooling, uniform, socks and shoes and then they will commit, by any language, it is really treason,” he said in Filipino.
Duterte has ordered the police officials to be relieved from their assignments and to report to the director general.
He also said that the police will investigate fully on the cases and find the truth.
“After so many validations, even when I was mayor in Davao City, these names were already coming out,” he said.
‘Bloody, dirty fight’
Duterte warned that the campaign against drugs will continue.
“It’s going to be a dirty fight, it’s going to be a bloody fight, I am not apologizing for it,” Duterte said.
He also told the authorities not to be afraid of enforcing the law as he is assuming “full legal responsibility” for all cases under the revised penal code so long as it was done in the fulfillment of duties of the officials.
And you can see that with the intensification of the criminal syndicates and the drug distribution, scores have been killed already and many more will die. And you should not join that, because even if you are police officers, you will place yourself in the line of fire),” he said. (davaotoday.com)
