A task force has been created to hunt police officers involved in the alleged staged P6.7-billion drug bust in 2022, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Saturday.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that the Philippine National Police (PNP) had created Task Force (TF) 29 dedicated to tracking down the 29 cops who were issued active search warrants in the drug haul case in Manila in October 2022.
Remulla said PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil committed to arrest the suspects “within this week.”
Earlier this week, Remulla revealed that 41 more cops were held administratively accountable for the said drug bust. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to file new cases on collusion and conspiracy against the implicated personnel which are non-bailable offenses, he added.
Remulla also stressed that they would go after rogue cops who taint the good image of the 225,000-strong police force in the country.
A Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) meanwhile dismissed the charges against Police Lieutenant General Benjamin Santos Jr., finding insufficient evidence to link him to the alleged staged P6.7-billion drug bust.
Santos Jr. was among 30 police officers accused of participating in a “grand conspiracy” to cover up a criminal operation within the Philippine National Police (PNP). The case stemmed from a controversial drug bust involving Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo in Tondo, Manila, in October 2022.
The officers were charged last Monday, January 13, 2025, with violating the Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002 for allegedly failing to properly report and document the drug bust.
However, Judge Danilo Leyve ruled that while surveillance footage confirmed Santos Jr.’s presence at the Western Police District (WPD) office, it did not provide conclusive evidence of his involvement in the alleged “bogus hot pursuit operation.”
The court emphasized the lack of records, witnesses, or testimonies directly implicating Santos Jr. in the conspiracy. Judge Leyve stated that “mere presence at the scene of the crime does not in itself amount to conspiracy” and therefore, there was no legal basis to hold him accountable.