The Philippine National Police yesterday said it has made significant strides in disciplining cops as it announced the resolution of 4,082 cases involving PNP personnel from 1 January last year to 30 August this year.

The PNP said 935 rogue cops were dismissed from the service, 242 were handed demotions, 1,850 were suspended, 159 had their salaries forfeited, 680 were reprimanded, 110 were restricted, and 106 had their privileges withheld.

"The PNP is strengthening its internal disciplinary mechanism and intensifying efforts in reiterating the doctrine of command responsibility and police operational procedures to every member on the ground," PNP chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr. said.

"We are bringing across our message that the PNP leadership strongly condemns any wrongdoing by its few misguided members," he added, emphasizing that the majority of police officers were honorable and professional.

Meanwhile, the PNP is fine-tuning its recruitment process to ensure that only honest recruits join the organization, its spokesperson, Col. Jean Fajardo, said.

"Is there something wrong with our recruitment process? Presently, we are implementing what we call the nameless and faceless recruitment to stop the patronage system," Fajardo said, speaking in Filipino.

"We do not want to recruit into the PNP those with dubious backgrounds. That's why we are strengthening our character and background investigations," Fajardo told reporters.

"The training provided to recruits will also be looked into," she added. "What is important to emphasize now is that whatever mistake a policeman commits, whether it be simple or a major blunder, the PNP will tackle them earnestly," Fajardo said.