The Takeaway
On January 4, the Philippines’ interior secretary, Benjamin Abalos Jr., announced his government’s intent to cleanse the corruption-tainted Philippine National Police (PNP), calling on top-ranking officials to tender “courtesy resignations” for their alleged involvement in the country’s illegal drug trade. Critics and human rights group are skeptical of the government’s shortcut method of “cleansing” the PNP and criticized the move for giving an easy exit to rogue cops, rather than investigating them and filing appropriate charges.
In Brief
Abalos Jr. urged police generals and colonels to resign after a series of anti-drug probes found top-ranking officers in the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were implicated in the illegal drug trade. The interior secretary argued that the resignations were the quickest way to oust rogue cops infecting the government’s anti-drug campaign — launched in October 2022 — and address the high degree of corruption among PNP forces. The move is designed to circumvent the lengthy process of sanctioning guilty cops. Abalos Jr. also argued that the policy will help restore public trust in the anti-drug campaign and the police itself. Those resigning would continue working while their records are assessed by a five-member evaluation committee.