The Philippine National Police (PNP) has relieved the chief of police of Mandaluyong City after he tested positive for drug use in a surprise drug test. Col. Cesar Gerente was among the top officials of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) who underwent a random drug test on Aug. 24, along with other commanders and chiefs of different offices and support units.
Gerente has been assigned to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Section under the Regional Personnel and Records Management Division of NCRPO for further investigation on administrative charges. He will also face administrative complaints for grave misconduct with a corresponding penalty of dismissal from the service.
Col. Mary Grace Madayag, the former deputy chief of the NCRPO’s Regional Intelligence Division, has been designated as the acting police chief of Mandaluyong City¹. Madayag is a graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 1999 and has served in various positions in the PNP, including as chief of the Women and Children Protection Center.
Mandaluyong City Mayor Benjamin Abalos Sr. welcomed the appointment of Madayag and expressed his support for the PNP’s internal cleansing efforts against drug users in its ranks. He also urged the PNP to conduct the strictest of tests and to enforce the highest of standards before presenting him with the names of the next possible candidate for Mandaluyong’s chief of police.
“We welcome our Officer in Charge Police, Col. Mary Grace Madayag to Mandaluyong City, and at the same time urge our PNP to conduct the strictest of tests and to enforce the highest of standards before presenting us with the names of the next possible candidate for Mandaluyong’s Chief of Police in order to avoid a similar issue in the future,” Abalos said in a statement.
Abalos also assured the public, especially his constituents, that the local government will continue to strive towards a peaceful, brighter, and more prosperous future for everyone.
Following Gerente’s positive drug test result, the NCRPO ordered all 497 personnel of the Mandaluyong City Police Station to submit to a random drug test on Aug. 28, all of whom yielded negative results. The NCRPO also conducted three more random drug tests since last week, where two more police officers tested positive for drug use². The NCRPO spokesperson Lt. Col. Eunice Salas said those found positive have 15 days to challenge the results of the drug tests.
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