10 top cops have not submitted courtesy resignations: PNP

Only 10 senior Philippine National Police officials have yet to turn in their courtesy resignations, the PNP spokesperson said Tuesday. 

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the 10 officials have until today, January 31, to submit their resignations. 

"As of yesterday, 941 out of 951 senior officers ang nakasumite na po ng courtesy resignations," she said in a TeleRadyo interview. 

Out of the 10, 7 are up for retirement. Fajardo said the 7 can still avail of their retirement benefits even without submitting their resignations unless they face criminal charges. 

A 5-man committee is set to conduct an evaluation and assessment on all PNP colonels and generals.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier urged hundreds of top-ranking police in the Philippines to resign as the government seeks to "cleanse" the corruption-tainted force of officers involved in the illegal drug trade.

• Senior police officials urged to resign to 'cleanse' force

Police officers have killed thousands of alleged drug dealers and users since mid-2016, but critics say the wealthy and powerful have been largely untouched.

It is not the first time such drastic measures have been used to clean up the Philippine police force.

Former president Fidel Ramos cracked down on police in the early 1990s, ordering all officers over 56 years of age or with more than 30 years of service to resign. The chief of the national police and nine other senior officers resigned as a result. 

With Agence France-Presse