Manila: Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has refuted claims about a quota system for arrests within the police force, asserting that operations are intelligence-driven. “There is no such thing as quota arrests,” Nartatez stated during a press briefing at Camp Crame, emphasizing that police actions are based on gathered intelligence information.
According to Philippines News Agency, Nartatez’s remarks were in response to calls from detainee rights advocacy group Kapatid. The group urged him to reverse the stance of his predecessor, former PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who had suggested measuring police performance by the number of arrests. Nartatez clarified that operations are conducted based on priority intelligence requirements and essential elements of information that are processed daily.
During the briefing, Nartatez highlighted recent PNP accomplishments aligned with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision for a disciplined, responsive, and humane police force. From August 22 to 28, the PNP conducted 924 operations, resulting in the arrest of 1,055 suspects and the confiscation of illegal substances, including 5,555 grams of shabu, 665 pieces of dried marijuana leaves, and 3,170 marijuana plants, valued at PHP38.4 million.
In a notable operation on August 31 in Barangay Rio Hondo, Zamboanga City, police arrested three male drug suspects and seized approximately 89 kilograms of suspected shabu concealed in Chinese tea bags, with an estimated value of PHP605.2 million. Nartatez remarked, “These are just some of the operations that highlight our continuing enforcement of the law for the safety of the public, in line with the call of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for a disciplined, responsive, and humane police service.”
As part of the campaign against wanted persons, Nartatez reported that police units successfully arrested 1,059 individuals, including 236 listed as “most wanted.”
