President in PNP Regional Office 9

“Kaya ako dumaan dito just to show my camaraderie with you… I’m just happy to have visited you here,” said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to around 500 officers and civilian staff of the Philippine National Police (PNP) – Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 in a gathering held at the multi-purpose hall of Camp Col. Romeo Abendan in Zamboanga City.

In his keynote address, the President imparted that he loses two policemen a day because of the ‘ongoing and recurring’ drug problem in the country. “I take time to go there not only to condole with the family but also to show my solidarity with you because the expectations ng tao sa atin is really that we can stop this problem on time,” he said.

During the event, the Commander-in-Chief led the presentation of awards to selected police officers for their significant accomplishments in anti-illegal drugs operations from July 01, 2016 to September 30, 2016. This included the Individual Awards (Plaque of Recognition) for officers killed in police operations (KIPO) and for those wounded in police operations (WIPO). For the Unit Awards, each recipient was given PhP 250,000 as cash incentive. ●