CABANATUAN CITY—At least 100 policemen here have been relieved from their posts and reassigned to other areas, while 10 barangay chairmen have been arrested in an intensified crackdown against illegal drugs in Nueva Ecija.
Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, provincial police director, said some of the lawmen have gone AWOL (absent without official leave) as the provincial government, the Philippine National Police, and the citizenry closed ranks to eradicate the drug problem in the province.
In a briefing, Yarra said the relieved lawmen have been transferred to Mindanao. He said they are still in the process of tracking down the whereabouts of those who went AWOL.
“It’s hard for us to monitor those who went AWOL because they didn’t report to us,” he said, adding the PNP has activated its own Drug Enforcement Unit, which works in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and local governments, to look for the rogue cops.
Yarra said the United Stand Against Drugs, a group organized by the provincial government, has proved a big help in the campaign in all the five component cities and 27 municipalities in the province.
“The provincial government under Gov. Czarina Umali has been very supportive of our anti-illegal drugs campaign in terms of logistics. Without her support, we will be hard-pressed to eradicate drugs in our midst,” he said.
In spite of the large number of policemen found involved in illegal drugs, Yarra said none so far have tested positive for illegal drug use.
He said some of the barangay officials who have surrendered to the PNP during the campaign are now undergoing reformation.
