PNP-IAS urges dismissal of police general over Parañaque raid in 2023

The Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) on Friday said it recommended the dismissal from the service of a police general over a police operation in Parañaque City in September 2023.

In a statement, the PNP-IAS said the police official, whom the agency refused to identify for now, was recommended dismissed due to command responsibility and gross neglect of duty.

“The IAS has concluded its investigation into the controversial police operation conducted in September 2023, recommending the dismissal of a police general under the principle of command responsibility and gross neglect of duty,” it said.

“This decision underscores the PNP's unwavering commitment to accountability and integrity within its ranks,” it added.

According to PNP-IAS, the administrative case stemmed from a raid on a condominium in Parañaque where Southern Police District (SPD) personnel served a search warrant on charges of illegal possession of firearms. 

As reported by the SPD, the raid resulted in the arrest of 10 Chinese and a Filipino, the rescue of more Chinese nationals, and the confiscation of P4.6 million in cash.

“However, the [National Capital Region Police Office] said there were alleged irregularities in the service of the search warrants after the arrested Chinese nationals complained about being arbitrarily detained and claimed that personal belongings not included in the warrant were illegally confiscated by the police,” the PNP-IAS said.

“Subsequent investigations revealed that the involved officers confiscated P27 million in cash that was not a subject of the search warrant and deliberately excluded a sizeable amount of cash and other personal items from the official inventory of recovered evidence,” it added.

Aside from this, the PNP-IAS said some police officers were found to have planted firearms at the scene, tried to destroy CCTV recordings, and deactivated their body-worn cameras during the operation.

Previously, 10 police officers were dismissed from service after being found guilty of grave misconduct, grave irregularity in the performance of duty, grave neglect of duty, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, less grave misconduct, and less grave neglect of duty.

Aside from this, seven more police officers were demoted while another 17 were suspended. —NB, GMA Integrated News