DEPARTMENT of Public Safety Commissioner Clement Bermudes said he has reinstated 11 of 28 police officers he had previously placed on administrative duty following an investigation into unjustified overtime.
“Just a few days into my appointment, we started investigating officers that were allegedly accumulating excessive amounts of illegal overtime hours,” he said. “I’m happy to report that I’ve reinstated 11 officers because, after a thorough investigation, they have been exonerated of any illegal administrative actions. I’m really happy because that is 11 more officers that are out in our community,” he added.
But thee of the 28 who were on administrative duty have resigned, Bermudes said.
He added that he is happy with the outcome of the investigation. “The front-line is my priority because that is where we engage the community, and that’s who responds when the community needs help. So, I’m really happy that we’re reinstating officers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 14 other officers remain under investigation.
“Patience is key because we don’t want to rush this investigation,” Bermudes said. “We want to make sure that we thoroughly investigate the issue and we have been doing that.”
He said “should any of the remaining officers be found unqualified to return to duty, criminal charges will likely be filed against them.”
He said the illegal overtime investigation is part of his overall goal to rebuild trust within the department.
The department’s illegal overtime investigation is not related to any typhoon-related compensation cases being pursued by the Office of the Attorney General, Variety learned.
According to the DPS transition report submitted to the Palacios-Apatang administration, DPS had been “paying out excessive OT accruals for the same group of officers (some higher-ranking officers and certain lower-ranking ones as well — specific to certain sections).”
The report added that there was “evidence of possible fraud/theft of government time in terms of excessive OT within the same group of officers every pay period.”
The report said the Office of the Public Auditor should audit the overtime at DPS for potential fraud.
