The Philippine National Police (PNP) said its support for infrastructure project inspections does not compromise its law enforcement duties, maintaining that it will assist the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The PNP was tasked by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to provide security support for DPWH officials in the department’s crackdown on anomalous infrastructure projects alongside the Department of Economy, Planning and Development, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
‘The police force has sufficient manpower and resources to sustain its support without compromising other law enforcement duties,’ Acting PNP chief, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Friday.
‘We have been helping in the conduct of the inspections and in securing pieces of evidence in response to DPWH requests,’ he explained.
Last Thursday, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the agencies have inspected 8,000 flood control projects, of which 421 were ‘ghost projects.’ /mr