MANILA, Philippines — Close to 16,000 police officers have been punished under the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) internal cleansing program since the start of the Duterte administration, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday.
In a statement, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ao said 16,839 policemen were penalized since 2016. Of the number, 4,784 police were dismissed from the police service, 8,349 were suspended,and 1,803 were reprimanded.
Of the dismissed policemen, 564 have been removed from police service due to their involvement in the narcotics trade.
The DILG issued the statement amid the public outrage against Police Master Sergeant Jo…
Keep on reading: Close to 17K cops punished since 2016 — DILG