President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday the courtesy resignation of colonels and general is needed to cleanse the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from alleged influence of illegal drugs.

Marcos said the move to call for courtesy resignation was part of his plan against anti-illegal drugs since he was campaigning for the election last year.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos said earlier Friday that he is giving police colonels and generals until the end of the month to submit courtesy resignations.

Abalos did not say what will happen to the officers who will not give courtesy resignations.

Sixty-seven senior police officials assigned in Metro Manila submitted their

courtesy resignations Friday.

Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) commander, led the signing of courtesy resignation letters at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Friday afternoon.

"We were planning this for a while. Well, let me be very clear. Remember, during the campaign, when I was being asked what we were going to do about the drug war or drug problem. This is it. We approach it in an entirely different way. We know that the problem with illegal drugs will not happen if there are no accomplices in the police," he said in an interview at the NAIA Terminal 3.

"We are just cleansing the ranks and trying to see, and making sure that our officials are reliable and are working for the government and not for the syndicate," he added.

Marcos said the government has not yet identified police officials reportedly involved in illegal drugs.

"We are going to form a commission. We asked for the resignation, the courtesy resignations. We will form a commission and we will look into the records of all of the officers as we slowly reinstate those who are clear and maybe, we will have to decide what we do with those that are implicated to being involved in the drug trade," he said.

"Maybe the severe cases will be charged. So we’ll see. We’ll see first. We’re not yet there," he added. Robina Asido/DMS