Duterte says he will raise P1M for cops involved in drug war

Former President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he will raise P1 million to help police officers who were involved in his administration’s war on drugs.

“I will start a fund sa protection ng mga pulis. I am putting up P1 million. Maghahanap ako. Meron akong P1 million. I will start, I will raise a fund para tulungan ‘yung mga pulis,” Duterte said during the hearing of the House Quad Committee (QuadComm).

(I will start a fund sa protection ng mga pulis. I am putting up P1 million. I will look. I have P1 million [but] I will start, I will raise a fund to help the police officers.)

Duterte issued the remark after Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez questioned him on PNP chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil’s statement that there is no official record that Duterte’s commitment of support to cops was fully realized.

Marbil said that 1,286 officers were affected in the line of duty, with 312 killed and 974 wounded, from July 2016 to June 2022.

A total of 214 officers also faced 352 criminal cases during this period.

“I will personally appear in court. Ako mismo ang mag defense counsel nila (I will be their defense counsel),” Duterte said.

PNP data also showed that 195 officers were dismissed over the six-year period.

When asked why he was only putting up a fund now, the former president said he did not know about the data. He later said there must be a reason for their dismissal.

“Maraming nag kakamali and there must be a reason for their dismissal. There cannot be a dismissal without a lawful ground. Kung napaalis ‘yan, sir, meron talagang kasalanan,” Duterte said.

(There are a lot of cops who make mistakes so there must be a reason for their dismissal. There cannot be a dismissal without a lawful ground. If they were dismissed, they did something wrong.)

Duterte also said there were no records of the rice benefits and other help he gave to families of police officers.

“Alam mo si Marbil, you remind him, hindi nakalista ‘yung mga bigas na binigay ko sa mga pamilya ng pulis, pera, enrollment ng mga bata. Hindi nakalista diyan,” he said.

(You know Marbil, you remind him, that the rice that I gave to families of police officers, the enrollment of their children are not listed. Those are not listed.)

GMA News Online has sought Marbil for comment but has yet to receive a response from him as of posting time.

Authorities have said that there were about 6,000 drug suspects who died during operations, but human rights groups claimed the number could reach as high as 30,000 due to unreported killings. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News