By Jennifer P. Rendon
Walk the talk.
Twenty-five members of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office-Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (IPPO-PDEU) were subjected to mandatory drug test Friday at the IPPO covered court.
The PNP Regional Crime Laboratory (RCL)-6 conducted the test as part of the PNP Revitalized Internal Cleansing Program.
The result is yet to be released said IPPO director Colonel Gilbert Gorero.
When Brigadier General Rolando Miranda assumed post as Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) director last week, he promised a relentless campaign against illegal drugs.
Part of his strategy is the conduct of regular drug testing among policemen “so that I will have peace of mind na ang ating alagad ng batas, ang mga pulis sa Western Visayas, ay hindi nagkakaroon ng problema sa ilegal na droga.”
All police officers, he said, who will be assigned on the anti-illegal drugs campaign will undergo proper vetting process to make sure that “their integrity is not in any way tainted.”
Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson, said the drug testing done among IPPO-PDEU personnel is part of the vetting process.
Other personnel assigned to different DEUs and station drug enforcement teams (SDETs) will also be tested.
In line with the PNP internal cleansing program, Malong said that they would also conduct targeted drug testing.
By targeted, “those who will be subjected are personnel who are suspected drug users,” she said.
In the past, PRO-6 has imposed dismissal from service on policemen who would turn out positive for illegal drugs use.