MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar issued an order on Monday for police officers to follow court orders to release detainees who have posted bail.
Eleazar also instructed the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) to look into the practice of some police personnel delaying detainees’ release despite a court order.
“I am also ordering all chiefs of police and other unit commanders to immediately release detainees under their custody if a court order is already issued and if the subject detainees have already complied with all the requirements for their release, except if they have other pending cases and if there are other legal grounds to continue their detention,” Eleazar said.
The order is intended to ensure that due process and current laws are followed, as well as to prevent erring police officers from exploiting detainees and their relatives, according to Eleazar.
Eleazar, citing accusations, said that inmates were asked to pay fees for “board and lodging”, “protection”, and “visitation” – a money-making racket perpetrated by some rogue cops on detainees.
The erring cops would allegedly argue that they couldn’t release the detainees despite the court order because they needed to check to see if the inmates were involved in other crimes.
Eleazar stated that a background check must be performed immediately upon the arrest to identify if they are also facing other charges or are wanted for other criminal activities.
“Hindi natin papayagan ang ganitong uri ng korapsyon sa aming hanay at tinitiyak ko na mamalasin ang sinumang utak-kriminal na pulis na sangkot dito (We will not allow this kind of corruption in our ranks and I guarantee that any unscrupulous policemen involved in this kind of practice will be penalized),” Eleazar said.
