Laboratory results confirmed the presence of illegal substances in the bodies of 20 policemen who took the random drug tests last week under the Philippine National Police’s six-month internal cleansing process.
Of the 20 policemen, nine came from Mindanao, the region with the highest number tested confirmed for illegal drugs, followed by Visayas with six, and five others assigned in different posts in Luzon.
Chief Supt. Emmanuel Aranas, chief of the PNP Crime Laboratory, said the policemen tested positive for shabu.
Aranas said 16 other policemen are undergoing confirmatory tests and added that the probability of clearing them was nil, since the 20 policemen who tested positive already failed the initial test of urine samples. He, however, did not discount the possibility that some maintenance medicines may have shown up in the confirmatory test.
The confirmatory test for the 20 cops were conducted after 22,770 PNP personnel were subjected to random and surprise drug tests across the country to weed out scalawags in the organization.
Chief PNP Ronald dela Rosa voluntarily submitted to a drug test shortly after the second command conference in Camp Crame barely two days upon his assumption to office.
President Rodrigo Duterte has linked three active police generals and two former police officials to the drug trade but the accused vehemently denied the allegations.
Last week, at least 100 policemen assigned in Bulacan and Pampanga were implicated in illegal drug operations in the region and a profiling has been carried out preparatory to the filling of charges against them.
The PNP has withheld the identities of the 100 rogue cops, considered the largest number of policemen involved in illegal activities.
The PNP continues to test its 160,000 uniformed police force and civilian personnel for drugs.