BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Four police officers assigned in Region 6 were dismissed from the service by the Philippine National Police for grave misconduct and having been Absent Without Leave, regional police spokesperson, Lt. Col. Joem Malong, said yesterday.
They were Cpl. Joseph Vergara, who used to be assigned at the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, who tested positive for using illegal drugs, and patrolmen Gregor Catequista, Novie Aron Miranda, and Jefferson Moreno, who were kicked out for grave misconduct for having been AWOL for more than 30 days, Malong said.
Vergara tested positive on December 9 last year, in a random drug testing conducted by the Police Regional Office 6.
Malong said Vergara was also charged for conduct unbecoming of a police officer and grave misconduct for having been AWOL for more than 30 days.
“This is to show that we are serious in the PNP internal cleansing efforts,” P/Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, regional police director of Western Visayas, said in a statement.
Miranda said one of his priorities is to expedite the solving of administrative cases filed against police personnel in the region.
Of the 18 administrative cases resolved by PRO 6, Malong said six officers were suspended and one penalized through forfeiture of salary, aside from the four dismissed from the service. Seven others were exonerated for lack of merit, she added.*
