President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stood by his decision to appoint retired Philippine National Police chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), despite being linked to previous controversies.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President handpicked Azurin to be the new special adviser and investigator of the ICI because of his ‘experience and expertise as an investigator.’
His appointment also has ‘no complications, because he is not a politician,’ she added.
According to Malacañang, Marcos had also taken into consideration Azurin’s involvement in the alleged coverup in the investigation of the PNP into a controversial drug haul in 2022.
‘He was just accused. It is easy to just drop names and to pin the blame on others,’ Castro explained.
‘It would be a different story if there were cases filed against him and he was convicted,’ she said.
Azurin fills in for Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who resigned on Friday after Malacañang raised concerns that his dual role in the government, among other issues, might compromise the independence of the ICI.
Stakeholders earlier raised concerns of Magalong being unfit to be at the ICI, citing the constitutional ban on any elective official from being designated to another public office during his tenure.
As special adviser and investigator, Azurin may directly submit reports and information to the ICI to aid in its fact-finding mandate.
He may also conduct a probe ‘on his own,’ but he does not hold power over the government’s law enforcement, intelligence and investigative bodies, including the PNP and National Bureau of Investigation.
In January 2023, then-Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos called for the courtesy resignation of all the more than 900 colonels and generals of the PNP as part of the government’s internal cleansing of the police force.
Azurin was among the first who submitted his courtesy resignation, but Marcos immediately rejected it, allowing him to complete his tenure and effectively clearing him of any involvement with illegal drugs.
Abalos, who also chairs the National Police Commission (Napolcom) then, ordered the PNP to create a special investigation task group to probe the involvement of police officials, including generals, in the seizure of 990 kilos of shabu worth P6.7 billion in a warehouse owned by a police intelligence officer in Tondo, Manila in October 2022.
Later inquiries found that police officers and officials attempted to pilfer the confiscated shabu either to be resold or to be used as ‘accomplishment’ in future anti-drug operations.
By April 2023, before Azurin retired from the police service, Abalos alleged that there was a ‘massive cover-up attempt’ in the investigation of the PNP. He ordered the Napolcom to conduct its own oversight inquiry.
Azurin denied Abalos’ claim and came to the defense of the two generals implicated in the investigation.
After a joint inquiry by the Napolcom and PNP, criminal complaints were filed against 50 police personnel, including two generals, before the Office of the Ombudsman for their suspected coverup and involvement in the operation.
In July 2023, Marcos accepted the resignation of 18 PNP officials, including three generals, for their drug involvement.